The New Jersey Connection
by CrazyWriters
Summary: A dead body in Las Vegas leads Jim Brass, along with Catherine and Nick, back to New Jersey and a past he left behind long ago. CSI/Sopranos crossover. BrassCat. R&R.
1. Chapter 1

**The New Jersey Connection**

_**Author's Note: This is a cross-over between CSI and The Sopranos. Also, we used to be MidnightCrime & Brassfan24 but have decided to use one name, CrazyWriters, for the both of us.**_

_**Summary: A dead body in Las Vegas leads Jim Brass, along with Catherine and Nick, back to New Jersey and a past he left behind long ago. CSI/Sopranos crossover. Jim/Catherine. R&R.**_

_**Pairing(s): Jim/Catherine, Nick/OC, Ralphie/OC and eventually Paulie/OC **_

**Chapter 1**

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

It was more overtime for Captain Jim Brass as he stood over a dead body outside the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. Tonight was supposed to be his night off. He still didn't understand why he took his pager with him and on a date at that. He was having a great time and was about to cut into his steak when the damned pager vibrated. But he was here now and had a job to do, so that's what he was going to do. The CSI SUV pulled up and Jim's favorite CSI stepped out of the vehicle. Along with Nick Stokes. Jim watched as she approached him and couldn't help but smile. "What have we got here, Jim?" Catherine asked.

"Michael Romano, age thirty-one, from Newark, New Jersey, according to his driver's license. He was shot in the back of the head."

"You thinking hit?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, well, it could be. But I'm not ruling out robbery. He has tan lines, indicating up until recently, he wore a watch and a pinky ring. Also there's no cash in the wallet."

"This is Vegas, Jim, the casino could have cleaned him out." Catherine said.

"Who called it in?" Nick asked.

"Parking lot attendant. He heard the gunshot but by the time he made it outside the shooter was already gone."

"I got tire treads over here." Catherine called. "Hey, Nicky get your gear and lift these."

"On it."

Catherine walked back over to the body and stood next to Jim. "Great first date, huh?" Catherine asked.

Just a half-hour earlier, the date that Jim had been enjoying so much was with Catherine. They had been at the Prime Steakhouse at the Bellagio on what was supposed to be their first date. Until they both got paged to this crime scene. Catherine had left the Bellagio and went back to the lab to change and grab her kit, before coming to the scene. Jim was still dressed in his gray suit, white shirt and striped gray silk tie. Another words he looked damned sexy and Catherine was regretting being taken away from their date.

"Took me a long time to ask you out and then this asshole has to go and get himself capped. But considering our jobs I shouldn't be surprised that the date was ruined."

"Postponed, Jim, not ruined." Catherine said and smiled touching Jim's arm.

Jim smiled back and then pointed to the body. "No defensive wounds on his hands."

"Well, he apparently never had a chance to fight back."

"Yeah. You can't fight what you don't see coming."

Nick walked back over. "Lifted the tire treads and I also found a shoe print, right next to the tread. I'm thinking the shooter's when he got back into his car."

"Okay, I'm gonna go do some old-fashioned police work and see if our vic was staying at the Grand." Jim said walking off. But not before giving Catherine a smile.

Of course it didn't go unnoticed by Nick. "What was that about?"

"What?" Catherine asked innocently.

"That look between you and Jim."

"There was no look."

"I saw it, Cath, so put down the shovel and back away."

Catherine laughed at that remark and decided to tell him. "Jim asked me out and tonight was supposed to be our first date. We were having dinner at the Prime Steakhouse when we both got paged."

"You and Jim? Dating?"

"Yeah, why? I happen to like Jim."

"No, that's not what I meant. Jim's a great guy but I never thought he was your type."

"Yeah, well, I'm broadening my horizons. I've come to realize what a great catch he is. Not to mention his eyes, broad shoulders and he's got a great ass."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Catherine I don't need to hear about Jim's ass. Thank you."

"Sorry, Nicky, let's get back to processing the scene shall we."

* * *

Jim was talking to the manager of the MGM Grand, trying to get information. "So, was Michael Romano a guest here?"

"Yes. He checked in last night at eight-thirty. Took his key and went straight to his room."

"Was he alone?"

"Yes."

"Did he stay in his room all night?"

"I'd have to check the security tapes."

"Why don't we do that." Jim said.

* * *

Jim walked back out to the crime scene. David had removed the body and Catherine and Nick were just finishing up with the evidence collection. "Well, our guy made enemies fast. He checked into the Grand last night. I also checked out the security tapes. He left his room at ten and made his way down to the casino, where he lost fifty grand playing Blackjack. When he ran out of money he threw in his watch and ring."

"So we can rule out robbery." Catherine said.

"Looks that way. You have anything?" Jim asked.

"Just some tire treads and a shoe print. No shell casing or murder weapon was left behind." Nick answered.

"We'll get this stuff back to the lab and see if Doc Robbins can extract the bullet." Catherine said.

"Okay, I'll see you both later." Jim said and started to walk away.

"Jim, wait a minute." Catherine called after him and then turned to Nick. "Listen, Nicky, pack up the truck and hang out a minute, okay?"

"Sure, no problem." Nick took the evidence and the field kits back to the truck.

Catherine walked over to Jim and took his hand. "I meant what I said before, Jim. Our date has only been postponed. When this case is over, we'll definitely pick up where we left off, okay?"

Jim smiled at her and squeezed her hand. "I never had any doubts, Cath. " Jim didn't even care that Nick was watching, he leaned in and gave Catherine a kiss. "And, yes, we will pick up where we left off." With that Jim walked toward his car.

Catherine was blushing as she made her way back to the SUV. She and Jim just shared their first kiss and it was at a crime scene. Not exactly the most romantic circumstances. But she did have to admit one thing: Jim Brass was one hell of a great kisser.

Catherine climbed in the passenger seat and looked over at Nick. He had a big grin on his face. "What's so amusing, Nick?"

"You and Jim. I can't believe he just kissed you. And at a crime scene."

"It's not like we were making out over the body, Nicky. He gave me a kiss before he left, that's all."

"Well, it seems like you enjoyed..."

"Nick, stop now before you bury yourself." Catherine interrupted.

"I was just merely saying..."

"Just drive us back to the damn lab, Nicky. Now!"

"Right. Got it." Nick said and decided he'd better quit now while he was still breathing.

* * *

Nick pulled the truck into the parking lot and noticed Catherine seemed preoccupied looking for something. Nick decided to take a chance. "Hey, Cath, what are you looking for?"

Catherine jumped, slightly startled and turned to Nick. "What? Oh, nothing."

"You were looking for Jim's car, weren't you?"

"What? No, I wasn't. I was seeing if Grissom was here."

"Mmmhmm. And I was just elected President of the United States."

"Yeah, well, I didn't vote for you." Catherine snapped.

"What's your problem?"

"You are, Nick. Stop butting into my business and let's just do our jobs, okay."

"Okay." Nick said to Catherine and then mumbled to himself. "Jim better sleep with her quick. She definitely needs to get laid."

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Let's just get this stuff inside for processing."

Nick parked the truck, got the evidence out of the back and he and Catherine made their way inside. Nick had pulled the front door opened when a car pulled into the parking lot. Catherine turned and smiled when she saw the Charger. "I'll meet you in the lab, Nicky. Sorry about snapping at you before. Its just I get one day off in I don't know how long and I get called in."

"Don't worry about it, Cath, I'd be the same way." Nick smiled at her and watched her walk toward the Charger. "Geez, she looks at Jim's car and her mood totally changes. I gotta keep him around more." Nick said to himself and walked inside the building.

Catherine walked over to Jim's Charger and greeted him as he got out. "Hi." Catherine said.

"Hi. You weren't waiting for me, were you?" Jim asked.

"We just got here and I was walking inside when I saw you pull in."

Jim smiled at her and they walked toward the building. Catherine reached out and took Jim's hand. All Jim could think about was: he could definitely get used to this.

* * *

Catherine and Nick went to see Doc Robbins. Jim always steered clear of the autopsy room whenever he could. He never did like dead bodies.

"Hey, Doc. You got anything for us?" Nick asked.

"Well, your guy was shot in the back of the head. Definitely a 9MM. The bullet lodged in his cerebral cortex. It was fairly easy to extract. I have it right here for you." Doc Robbins said.

Nick picked up the bullet and put in a bindle. "I'll get this to the lab and see if we get a hit on IBIS."

"Okay, thanks Nick." Catherine said.

After Nick left, Doc Robbins looked at Catherine. "So, there's not much more I have for you. COD was pretty simple. No defensive wounds."

"Thanks, Doc. I'm gonna meet up with Nick."

"You got it."

* * *

Nick ran the bullet through IBIS. It didn't take too long before he got a hit. It was coming up on the screen as Catherine, along with Jim walked into the lab. Nick looked up when they entered. "Hey, guys, I got a hit on our bullet."

"Really? So, this gun was used before?" Catherine asked.

"Yeah. Unsolved homicide. A bullet matching ours was removed from the head of a guy named Dominic Roselli." Nick looked at them again. "This homicide took place in Newark, New Jersey."

Jim didn't like where this was going at all. Their vic was from Newark and so was a related homicide. "I'll put a call into Newark P.D. See what they have." Jim said and left the room.

* * *

Jim went back to his office and got comfortable behind his desk. He picked up the receiver and got the number for the Newark P.D. "Newark Police Department, how can I direct your call?" a female voice asked on the other end.

"I'm looking for the head of the homicide division." Jim said.

"One moment please." She left the line for what felt like an eternity to Jim. Finally she came back. "That would be Captain Peter Brass but he's not available at the moment. Is there a message I can give him?"

"Uh, no thank you. I'll try back another time." Jim said and hung up the phone.

_Captain_ Peter Brass, Jim's younger and only brother. Peter was younger by two years and their sister Andrea was younger than Jim by five. Jim always tried to set an example for Peter and Andrea, but apparently Peter chose to ignore his brother's advice and took the wrong path in life. Although, he became a cop like Jim, he also chose to get involved with the most dangerous crime family on the East coast: Tony Soprano's crew. So Peter had gotten promoted after all. Although Jim wasn't really too surprised at that news. Peter was after all connected in all the wrong places.

Andrea, on the other hand, had gone to NYU medical school and became one of the top surgeons in the state of New Jersey. Jim had always been proud and very protective of his younger sister. Even when he made the move to Vegas, they kept in touch and talked on the phone at least once a week. Unlike him and Peter. The two brothers hadn't spoken to each other in years.

Jim sat at his desk and contemplated what he was going to do. Dealing with his own case meant also dealing the case back in Newark. Which also meant dealing with Peter. Was Jim really ready for all this? Only time would tell.

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Peter Brass walked into Bada Bing. A strip club owned by Silvio Dante, aka Sil, a prime member of the Soprano crew. Peter walked to the bar where Sil and Tony were standing. On the stage two women in G-strings were swinging around poles to AC/DC's You Shook Me All Night Long. "Hey, got your message. What's up?" Peter asked.

"Not here. Let's go in the back." Tony said.

They walked into the back room of the club. This was where Tony conducted most of his business. That is when he wasn't at his office in the back of Satriale's. In the back room of Bada Bing was the rest of the crew: Ralphie Cifaretto, Paulie Gualtieri - better known as Paulie Walnuts, Christopher Moltisanti - Tony's second cousin - but was considered more his nephew, Bobby Baccalieri - or Bobby Bacala and the newest and first female member of the crew, Tony's cousin - Nicole Soprano. Although letting women into the crew was usually against the rules but Tony made an exception for Nicole. One - she proved herself worthy and two - she was family.

Paulie, Christopher and Bobby were sitting at the table, while Ralphie and Nicole were sitting on the couch. Usually, Ralphie tried to hide his relationships from Tony, especially if he was dating a member of Tony's family, but Nicole said she wouldn't go out with him if they hid their relationship. They both knew Tony didn't approve but there wasn't much he could really do about it.

Tony and Sil took the remaining two chairs at the table and Peter sat in a chair by the couch. "Hey, Pete. What brings you here?" Ralphie asked.

"Business." Peter simply replied. Then he looked at Tony. "Our little problem was taken care of."

"Glad to here it. Those little fuckers were becoming a very big problem." Tony said.

"Well, they won't be a problem anymore." Christopher stated.

Peter didn't want to stay any longer than was necessary and everyone knew that. Peter stood, shook everyone's hand and made his way out of the club. Just then he heard a voice calling after him. "Hey, Pete, wait a second."

It was Ralphie Cifaretto, a Captain in Tony's crew and Peter's best friend. "What's up Ralphie?"

"Nothing. I just haven't seen you around in awhile. Just wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm good, Ralphie. How have you been? You and Nicole seemed pretty cozy in there."

"Yeah. I think I finally found the woman for me, Pete."

"Yeah, I've heard that before."

"No, I mean it. We have very similar interests. If you know what I mean?"

"I do. But I really don't wanna think about it. Believe it or not Ralphie, your sex life is the last thing on my mind."

Ralphie laughed. "Okay. Hey, man, don't be a stranger. Come over for dinner tomorrow. Justin will love to see his Uncle Pete."

"Sounds good. I'll be there."

Ralphie and Peter hugged and Peter turned around and strode to his car.

* * *

Peter arrived back at the department and went straight to his office. A female officer knocked on his door with his messages. Peter took them and flipped through them. He got to the last one and stopped her before she left. "What's this one about?" Peter asked.

"A man called looking for the head of Homicide."

"He didn't leave his name or what he wanted."

"He said he'd try back later."

"Okay. Thanks."

Peter laid his messages on his desk, when the phone rang. "Brass." he answered.

The person on the other end took a deep breath, then finally spoke. "Peter? It's Jim. We need to talk."

**TBC...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Peter froze in his chair when he heard his brother's voice. A voice he hadn't heard in years. "Jim, what do you want?" Peter asked gruffly.

"I need some information on one of your cases out there."

"Which one?"

"A DB named Dominic Roselli."

"Dominic Roselli? Why do you want to know about him?" Peter asked nervously.

"I have a DB of my own out here that I think is connected."

"Connected how?"

"Possibly shot with the same gun."

"You know this for sure?" Peter asked wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"The bullet we took out of him matched a hit on IBIS to Roselli. So, yeah I'm sure."

"Listen, Jim, I'll have to talk to the detective in charge. I'll get back to you, okay?"

"Okay. I'll be waiting." Jim said and hung up.

Peter slammed down the phone, jumped up from his chair and made a mad dash for the door. He ran down the stairs nearly knocking people over as he went. When he made it outside to his car, he jumped in and peeled out of the parking lot.

* * *

Peter pulled into the parking lot of Bada Bing, parked and ran inside to the back room. The whole crew was still there and turned toward the door when Peter burst in. "Whoa, Pete, where's the fucking fire?" Ralphie asked.

"We got a problem. A big one." Peter said frantically.

"What's going on, Pete?" Tony asked.

"I just got a call from the Las Vegas Police Department asking about Roselli."

"Roselli? How the fuck would Vegas know about Roselli?" Paulie asked.

"Apparently they matched the bullet they took out of Romano." Peter said.

"Why would they be able to match the fucking bullet they took out of Romano to the one from Roselli? The same fucking gun shouldn't have been used." Tony yelled.

"Looks like our guy fucked up." Sil stated.

"You should've let me make the hit, Tony." Nicole said.

"Yeah, at least then we wouldn't have this fucking problem." Ralphie added.

"Well, we know what we gotta do, don't we?" Tony asked.

"I'll take care of it, Tony." Nicole volunteered.

"Okay. Don't fuck it up."

"No problem. This motherfucker is already dead." Nicole stated and left the room.

"You sure she can handle this?" Paulie asked.

"Yeah because if she can't I'll gladly cap the fucker." Christopher added.

"She can fucking handle it. She knows what she's doing." Ralphie stated.

"All right, everyone shut the fuck up. The problem is being taken care of." Tony said and turned to Peter. "Thanks, Pete, I really appreciate you telling us."

"Anytime. But listen I gotta get back to work. I'll catch you guys later." Peter said and left for the second time that day.

* * *

Nicole drove out to Mac McKenzy's house. He was the hitman that the crew hired to get rid of their problems. Now, as it turned out, he was the problem. But not for long, Nicole was going to make sure of that. Nicole sat in her truck and watched as Mac came out of his house.

Before he had a chance to get in his car, Nicole crept up behind him and smashed him in the back of the head with a pipe. She looked around to see if anyone had noticed but there wasn't a person out on the street. She grabbed Mac's body and threw him in the back of the truck. Now all she had to do was take him to a deserted place and finish the job.

Nicole knew just the place: The Pine Barrens. The perfect place to dump a body. No chance it will ever be found. She got the truck on the highway and made the trip in less time than she expected. She pulled the truck in among the trees, so she wouldn't be noticed by cars passing by on the highway.

She got out of the truck and went around to the back. She opened the back and pulled Mac's unconscious body out onto the ground. She dragged him well into the woods, along with her 9MM Glock and a shovel. Once she was comfortable with the distance she stopped and let him fall to the ground. Then waited a good half-hour until he finally started to come to. What was the point of shooting someone if they were unconscious? But during that half-hour, Nicole didn't just sit around; she dug the hole that was about to become Mac McKenzy's grave.

Once he was fully conscious again, he looked up at Nicole. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Taking care of a big fucking liability."

"What are you talking about?"

"You had a job to do. But you fucked up. Tony hates fuck-ups." Nicole dropped the shovel and pulled out her Glock. "Welcome to the last day of your life."

"Please, don't. I'll make it up to Tony, I swear."

"Too late." Nicole said and pulled the trigger, shooting Mac right between the eyes. Then she dumped his lifeless body into the waiting grave and filled in the hole.

After the job was done, Nicole drove back to Newark very satisfied.

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

Jim was sitting in his office when there was a knock on the door. It opened and Catherine was standing there. Jim smiled when he saw her. "Any news from Newark?" Catherine asked taking a seat in front of his desk.

"Not yet. But I don't intend to hear anything from them."

"Really? Why is that?"

"My brother's the Captain of homicide out there and if Romano was a hit, I'm afraid Peter could be involved."

"Your brother's involved in the mob?"

"In a big way. He's involved with the most dangerous crime family on the East coast."

"The Sopranos? Wow, I had no idea. How did you find out?"

"It was by accident, really. I overheard him talking to a member of the crew. One thing I don't tolerate is a dirty cop. And Peter is as dirty as they come."

"Oh, Jim, I'm sorry." Catherine said, got up and moved around to Jim's side of his desk. She sat on the edge and looked into his eyes. She couldn't believe how blue they looked at that moment. Not to mention how sad. She leaned down and kissed Jim gently on the lips.

Jim stood up, put his arms around Catherine's waist and pulled her to him. She wrapped her arms around Jim's neck and deepened the kiss further. When the kiss ended they both looked at each other and smiled. It was exactly what Jim needed to take his mind off of Peter.

"So, what are we going to do?" Catherine asked.

"Feel like taking a trip?"

"To Newark? Okay, when do we leave?"

"I have to clear some personal time with the Sheriff, so I'll let you know. You might want to inform Nick and book off some personal time yourselves."

"Nick? Why?"

"I think we should bring him along. We'll need all the help we can get."

"Okay. Want to tell me why we're making this unofficial?"

"It's less messy that way. Better to keep a low profile."

* * *

Jim made his way to Sheriff Ben Burdick's office. He knocked on the door and waited for a response. "Come in." Burdick replied.

"Sheriff? I need to talk to you."

"What is it, Jim?"

"I need to take some emergency leave."

"Jim, the last time you took "emergency leave", you ended up playing a vice cop in L.A."

"My daughter, Ellie, was in trouble. I wasn't gonna turn my back on her."

"Very touching. What's the emergency this time?"

"I have to go back to Newark. It's a family matter."

"Yeah, I'm aware of your so-called 'family matters', Jim." Burdick looked at Jim and knew he wasn't going to give so he gave in. "Fine. But one infraction and you're suspended without pay."

"Right, Ben." Jim said and left the office.

* * *

Jim found Catherine and Nick in the break room. They were seated at the table talking when Jim walked in. "So, Jim, when do we leave?" Nick asked.

"The sooner the better." Jim replied.

"Okay, so what's the mode of transportation?" Catherine asked.

"We could fly." Nick suggested.

"I was thinking we would drive." Jim countered.

"Road trip? Excellent." Catherine stated.

"Whoa! Wait a minute. You can't be serious. I don't want to be trapped in a car for two days with you two lovebirds."

"Suck it up, Nicky. We're driving. We out-vote _and_ out-rank you." Catherine said teasing him.

Nick sighed. "This is gonna be a long trip."

* * *

They all decided they'd be better off taking Catherine's SUV, since there would be more room. They piled their entire luggage into the back and hit the road. Jim got behind the wheel, while Catherine took shotgun and Nick hopped in the back.

Just as they started driving, Catherine turned on the radio and Shot Through the Heart by Bon Jovi was playing. Nick wasn't exactly thrilled with the music. After all he was a country music fan. "Hey, can you change the station?"

"Come on, Nick, this is Bon Jovi. Don't tell me you're not a fan?" Catherine asked.

"Not particularly. Let's find something we can agree on." Nick whined.

Catherine started switching the channels on the radio. She stopped on a station that was playing Out in the Streets by Blondie. "How's this Nick?" Catherine asked.

"Deborah Harry's fine, but I'm not a fan of the music."

"What_ do _you like Nick?" Jim asked.

"Mostly country, but I do like some rock."

Catherine started channel surfing again. Finally, Catherine stopped on a station that was playing Heartache Tonight by The Eagles. "Now, this I like." Nick said from the backseat.

With Nick happy in the backseat, Catherine reached out and took Jim's hand. Jim glanced over at her and smiled. Apparently the radio station was playing double shots because One of These Nights by The Eagles came on right after.

Both Jim and Catherine figured this station would keep Nick happy for awhile. They didn't care what was playing on the radio. Many hours later Jim crossed over into Colorado. Of course he was dead tired. They pulled over at a rest stop to get some food.

They walked into the diner and took a seat in a booth. Jim sat down next to the window, Catherine sat down next to him and Nick sat across from them. The waitress came over, took their orders and left. None of them could believe they were making a cross-country trip but here they were sitting in a diner in Colorado.

After they finished eating, they got back on the road. This time with Nick driving. Both Jim and Catherine climbed in the backseat. Catherine needed some sleep before it was her turn to drive. She snuggled closely to Jim and rested her head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head and wrapped and arms around her. Nick looked at them through the rearview mirror and smiled to himself. He was actually happy that two of his best friends found love with each other.

Nick drove a few more miles and glanced back at them again, they were both still sound asleep. Nick was getting bored and decided to turn the radio on. He found himself a country station and was satisfied with the song that was playing: What I'd Say by Gary Allan.

* * *

The country station that Nick had playing passed the time for him and he ended up crossing over into Missouri. Jim and Catherine were well awake by this time and were still in the backseat. They stopped for more food and Catherine took over the driving after they left the diner.

Nick gave Jim shotgun and climbed back in the backseat. Jim reached over and turned the radio on. Hoping to find something that would get a rise out of Nick. But he stopped when he heard Holy Water by Big 'n' Rich. Jim loved this song. Apparently so did Catherine and Nick.

They were making their trip in great time. They had been on the road now for two days and should be making their way into Newark any time now. Nick took over the last leg of the trip and so Jim and Catherine decided to catch some z's.

Nick got on the highway and when Jim and Catherine woke up they couldn't believe what they saw. "Nick? How the fuck did we end up in Pennsylvania?" Jim asked.

"I took the wrong exit on the highway. I was hoping to back on track by the time you two woke up."

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Finally, hours later they made their way into Newark. The trip took two and a half days. It would have only taken two days if Nick hadn't of gotten them lost. But they were there now and drove to the nearest hotel. Catherine went and checked them in, while Jim and Nick got the bags out of the SUV.

When they all met up in the lobby, Catherine handed Nick his room key. Jim looked at her. "Okay, where's my key? I really need a shower."

Nick knew where this was going and took off for his room. Catherine smiled at Jim. "Hmmm. I got your room key right here. Follow me."

Jim, carrying their bags, followed Catherine upstairs to the room. Catherine opened the door and pulled Jim inside. "Catherine, what are you doing?" Jim asked.

"You didn't think we'd be in separate rooms, now did you?"

"Well... I... uh..." Jim stammered.

Catherine pulled Jim into a kiss. Jim wrapped his arms around her and gently pulled her toward the bed, but suddenly he broke the kiss. Catherine looked into Jim's eyes. "I've wanted you for the last two days, Jim, don't stop now."

That's all Jim needed to hear. He took Catherine in his arms and kissed her neck. Then they undressed each other. Jim gently laid Catherine down on the bed and then laid beside her. Catherine then kissed him. Jim suddenly broke the kiss and started his way along her lean body. First kissing her throat and taking little nibbles with his teeth. That drove Catherine wild. Then he proceeded to place little kisses down her body until he came in contact with her right breast, taking the nipple into his mouth. He sucked hungrily and then went on to give its twin the same attention.

Finally, Jim moved downward and kissed her flat stomach. The lower he moved, the more Catherine moaned. A sound that Jim loved to hear. That sound always meant that he was doing everything just right. Then he made it to that magic spot between her thighs. He slowly explored her womanhood with his hot, wet tongue, making her buck her hips to meet his face. It didn't take her long to come because Jim knew all the right spots to hit.

After the pleasure Jim had just bestowed on Catherine, she wanted to return the favor to him. "Jimmy, roll over."

Jim froze for a moment. Did Catherine just call him Jimmy? She never, in all the years he's known her, called him Jimmy. It was usually Jim or Brass. Could this be a good sign. A new level of intimacy between them? Suddenly, Jim shook the thoughts from his head, did as she asked and rolled over onto his back. Catherine repeated the same routine that Jim had just performed on her. She started at his throat and kissed and nibbled all the way down while running her fingers through his dark chest hair. When she got to her favorite place, Jim jumped slightly as her lips touched the tip of his hard shaft. She slowly ran her tongue down its length until she reached the base and then, back up again. She finally took the tip into her mouth and began to move her head up and down. Jim moaned in pleasure. Just as he was about to come he stopped her and pulled her up toward him.

Jim then rolled her over onto her back and kissed her passionately on the lips. She responded hungrily and snaked her hands through his hair. Jim began to position himself on top of her and with one smooth motion he was inside. Jim began a slow thrust that eventually became faster and faster, until they both came together. He collapsed on top of her and whispered into her ear, "That was amazing, Catherine."

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Jimmy," she said in a ragged breath. Jimmy. There it was again. He could definitely get used to this.

They were both spent after their amazing lovemaking and they curled up in each other's arms to catch at least a few hours of sleep.

* * *

Peter arrived at Ralphie's house and rang the bell. Nicole answered the door. "Hey, Pete. Ralphie's in the tub. He'll be down in a few."

"He's the only guy I know that likes taking baths." Peter said.

"Come on in, I'll get you a drink."

"Thanks. So where's Justin?"

"Outside, with a friend."

Suddenly, Ralphie's maid burst in the house and made a mad dash for the stairs. She started pounding on the bathroom door. "Mr. Ralph? Mr. Ralph? Come quick."

"What? What is it?" Ralphie yelled from the tub.

"Mr. Ralph, please, come quick."

"What the fuck are you screaming about?" Ralphie screamed at her.

By this time Peter and Nicole had made it to the top of the stairs and watched her frantically pounding on the door. "What's going on?" Nicole asked.

"Mr. Ralph, it's Justin. He is hurt. Bad."

When Ralph heard that he jumped out of the tub, threw on his bath robe and took off toward the backyard. Nicole and Peter were right behind him. Justin was on the ground, not moving. He had an arrow sticking out of his chest. "Justin, hang in there. We're gonna get you some help. Call 911!" Ralphie screamed. Peter already had his cell phone and had given the 911 operator the address. "Justin? You're gonna be okay." Ralphie said.

When the paramedics showed up, they loaded Justin onto a stretcher and into the back of the bus. Ralphie climbed in the back, while Peter and Nicole went in his car.

* * *

Justin had been in surgery now for over an hour. Peter's sister Andrea was the doctor taking care of him. When she came out Ralphie jumped up from his seat. "How's Justin?" Andrea took Ralphie aside to talk to him. When he returned to the waiting room he was as white as a ghost.

"How's he doing?" Peter asked.

"The arrow punctured his lung. He can't breathe on his own right now." Ralphie said.

Peter grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. "Listen, Ralphie, Justin's a strong kid. He'll come out of this just fine."

Just then they saw doctors and nurses running into Justin's room. Ralphie panicked and stopped one of the nurses. "What's going on? What's wrong?" Ralphie asked frantically.

"He just coded." the nurse said.

**TBC...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Ralphie stood in the doorway of Justin's hospital room and watched the doctors and nurses working on his only son. They managed to stabalize him, at least for the time being. Andrea, or rather Dr. Brass, didn't want Justin to have any visitors tonight, given his severe condition.

Ralphie went back out to the waiting room. Just then Ronnie Capozza, Ralphie's ex-wife and Justin's mother, along with her husband Dennis came barreling into the waiting room. When she saw Ralphie she went right for him. "You bastard! This is all your fault. I never should have agreed to let you see him." Ronnie shouted at him.

"Hey, he's my kid too. You wanna control her?" Ralphie asked Dennis.

Dennis pulled his hysterical wife into his arms, while Ralphie went and sat down. Carmela, Tony's wife, sat down beside him and put her arm around his shoulder to try and comfort him. Ralphie just hung his head. How could this happen? Why did he leave Justin alone?

The kid that Justin was playing with was there with his parents. He looked at Ralphie. "It was an accident."

Ralphie jumped up from his seat. "An accident? What the fuck were you throwing arrows for?" Ralphie yelled.

Tony grabbed him and shoved him against the wall. "Watch it, Ralph. He's just a kid. It was a fucking accident."

Ralphie slumped against the wall and began to cry. He knew it was an accident. But he needed to take his anger out on someone else, rather than admit he fucked up as a parent. The last thing he wanted to be was responsible for something bad happening to Justin. His only son. His reason for living. No, he couldn't lose him. Not now, not ever.

Nicole sat down on the floor next to Ralphie and pulled him into her arms. He started to cry harder. "I can't lose him."

"You're not going to lose him, baby. He's gonna be fine. Why don't we go home? There's nothing else we can do here."

"Yeah, Ralphie, Nicole's right. I'll stay here and if anything happens I'll call you, okay?" Peter said.

"Yeah, okay. Thanks, Pete." Ralphie said whiping the tears from his face.

Ralphie and Nicole left first. Followed by Tony, Carmela, the little boy and his parents. Peter stayed behind like he promised, along with Ronnie and Dennis. Peter prayed that Justin would pull through because if he doesn't, Ralphie would lose it for sure.

* * *

Jim and Catherine met Nick in the lobby of the hotel. "So, what do we do now?" Nick asked.

Jim pulled out his cell phone and dialed Peter's office. All he got was the voice mail. Jim closed the cell and shoved it back into his pocket. "I knew Peter wouldn't be at his office. Or he's there and avoiding me."

"Why would he avoid you?" Nick asked.

"Long story. Right now there's someone else I want to see."

* * *

Jim, Catherine and Nick all piled in the SUV. Jim was driving, of course, after all he was the one that knew Newark. "Do you want to tell us where we're going?" Catherine asked.

"Yeah, we're going to the Newark Beth Israel Medical Center." Jim stated.

"Why?" Nick asked from the backseat.

"A personal matter." Jim said and left it at that.

The majority of the trip was silent. Jim pulled the SUV into the hospital parking, found a space and parked. They all got out and headed toward the building. Catherine and Nick followed Jim up to the third floor. They walked down to the nurses station.

Jim walked up to the desk and didn't notice Peter sitting in the waiting room. "Can I help you, sir?" the nurse behind the desk asked.

"I'm looking for Dr. Andrea Brass."

"Dr. Brass is with a patient at the moment, would you like to wait?"

"Yeah, I'll wait over here. Thank you."

Jim, Catherine and Nick walked into the waiting room at the same moment Peter glanced up. Jim and Peter looked at each other square in the eyes. "Jim? What the fuck are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for Andrea. What are you doing here?"

"Not that it's any of your business, I'm waiting to here news on a friends son."

At that moment Andrea emerged from Justin's room and looked right at Jim. "Jimmy? Oh my God!" She ran over and pulled Jim into a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to surprise you." he replied looking at Peter over Andrea's shoulder.

"Well, you certainly accomplished that. So, what brings you back home?" Andrea asked letting Jim go.

Again Jim looked at Peter. "Police business, actually. I'm working on a case."

"Figures. Who are your friends?"

"Sorry, Andrea, this is Catherine Willows and Nick Stokes. We work together in Vegas. This is my sister Andrea."

Catherine held out her hand in greeting. "Nice to meet you."

"Like wise." Andrea said shaking Catherine's hand. "Mr. Stokes, a pleasure."

"Nick, please, glad to meet you."

"All right, enough of this bullshit. I want to talk to you Jim." Peter said pulling Jim off to the side. "You had no right coming back here."

"The hell I didn't. I have a job to do and unlike you, I happen to do it honestly."

"You're an asshole, you know that, Jim?" Peter said and took a swing at Jim. He connected with Jim's jaw and sent him flying back against the wall.

Jim regained his composure and charged at Peter, knocking him to the ground. He slammed his fist into Peter's face, over and over again, until finally he felt himself being pulled off of him. It was Nick. Andrea ran over and got between her two older brothers. Peter's face was all bloody and Jim had a split lip and bruised knuckles.

"All right, I've had enough of you two. Either you learn to behave like civilized people or you leave this hospital right now."

Jim looked at Andrea. "You're right, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

Andrea checked out both her brothers. Jim had to get a few stitches in his lip but nothing serious. Peter on the other hand ended up with a broken nose.

Jim, Catherine and Nick had made their way down to the cafeteria. Jim and Catherine were sitting at a table, while Nick went and got them all coffee. "Serves him right." Jim stated as Nick came back to the table.

"Who was that guy, Jim?" Nick asked as he sat down.

"My brother."

"How come you guys don't get along?"

"He's a dirty cop. I mean, it's never been proven but I know he's involved with the mob."

"The mob, really. So that's why we're here in Jersey. You know for a fact that Romano was a hit, don't you?"

"We're not a hundred percent sure, Nicky, but it's starting to look that way." Catherine replied, looked at Jim and placed her hand on his arm. "How's the lip?"

"Ah, it's nothing that won't heal."

* * *

Back upstairs Andrea was talking to Peter. "How's Justin?" Peter asked.

"We have him stabalized." Andrea stated.

"He's going to be all right, isn't he?"

"He's got a punctured lung but I'm confident that he's gonna make a full recovery."

"I'll call Ralphie and let him know." Peter said and pulled out his phone and leaving.

Just then Jim, Catherine and Nick came back upstairs. Jim walked over to Andrea. "Hey."

"Hi. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. I've had worse."

"Yes you have, Jimmy, I'll never forget that."

"Ah, it was nothing."

"Nothing? Mike O'Toole tried to gut you. The last thing I wanted, Jimmy, was you on my operating table. He really wanted you dead."

"Yeah but he didn't succeed did he?"

"He was damn close though. I had to piece you back together."

"Hey, Andrea, O'Toole is not someone I want to be talking about right now, okay?"

"Okay. I understand."

"So, why is Peter really here? He told it has something to do with a friends son?"

"Justin Cifaretto. Poor kid came in with and arrow sticking out of his chest."

"Cifaretto? I know that name."

"His father is Ralph Cifaretto. He and Peter are best friends."

"Ralph Cifaretto. Son of a bitch."

"What's wrong, Jimmy?" Andrea asked.

Catherine and Nick walked over when they heard that. "Hey, Jim, you okay?" Nick asked.

"Does Cifaretto hang around with the Soprano crew?" Jim asked Andrea.

"Tony Soprano? He was here when Justin was brought in." Andrea said.

"I knew Peter was involved with them." Jim stated. "You've just verified it, Andrea, thank you."

* * *

Peter had called Ralphie and updated him on Justin's condition while he was yet again driving to Bada Bing. He pulled into the parking lot, parked and went inside. Tony, Christopher and Paulie were sitting in the backroom. "Hey, Pete, whoa, you look like you just went a couple rounds with Rocky Marciano. What the fuck happened?" Paulie asked.

"That's what I'm here about. That call I got a few days ago from the Vegas P.D."

"Yeah, what about it?" Tony asked.

"It was my brother, Jim. He's the Captain of the homicide division out there and he's in town checking into Roselli."

"Your brother?" Christopher asked.

"Yeah, Romano's his case."

"Is he gonna be a problem?" Tony asked.

"Let me handle him, okay?" Peter asked. "I'll make sure he doesn't become one."

"Make sure you do. We can't have him asking questions." Tony said.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure of it." Peter said and left.

"You should let us handle this, Tony." Christopher said.

"Let's see how Pete handles things. If he fucks up, you can get rid of both of them."

"Right." Christopher stated.

* * *

Andrea had invited Jim, Catherine and Nick over to her house for dinner and they gladly excepted. They had gone back to the hotel to clean up and change clothes. When they arrived at her house Jim rang the bell. Andrea answered and let them in. "Make yourselves at home. Would you like something to drink?"

"Whatever you have." Jim said as he, Catherine and Nick sat down in the living room.

"I have wine, beer, coffee."

"Actually, scotch would be great, if you have it." Jim said.

"Of course I have scotch. Anything for you two?" Andrea asked Catherine and Nick.

"I'll have a beer." Nick replied.

"Wine for me." Catherine said.

"Red or white?"

"Red, please."

"Coming right up." Andrea said and went into the kitchen.

Nick was sitting in an easy chair, while Jim and Catherine sat together on the couch. Jim took Catherine's hand in his and smiled at her. Well, as best he could, what with his swollen lip and all. Catherine smiled back and leaned into him.

Nick watched them. He still couldn't believe they were together, but he was happy for them. If anyone deserved to be happy, it was Jim and Catherine. Andrea came back to the living room with the drinks and noticed Jim and Catherine on the couch.

"Well, this is a surprise. Are you two...?" Andrea asked.

Jim looked at Catherine, who nodded, and then back to Andrea. "Yes, we are." Jim said.

"Wow. How long?"

"Just recently actually." Jim replied.

"I'm happy for you." Andrea said and handed everyone their drinks. "Dinner will be ready soon."

"No rush." Jim said and took a sip of his scotch.

"I ran into Nancy the other day." Andrea said.

"Oh." Was all Jim had to say.

"Who's Nancy?" Catherine asked.

"My ex-wife." Jim said. "Do you keep in touch with Doug?"

"I'd rather not talk about Doug, okay?"

"Okay."

"So, Nick, Catherine are you two cops also?" Andrea asked.

"We're crime scene investigators, actually." Nick said.

"We have the best lab in the country." Catherine added.

"I know. Jimmy's mentioned it more than once."

"What can I say? I love my job and the people I work with." Jim stated.

"Do you have any children, Andrea?" Catherine asked.

"I have two daughters. Kayla's twenty-one and Hailey's nineteen. They're both in college. How about you?"

"I have a daughter, Lindsey, she's fourteen."

"Tough age. How about you, Nick? Any kids?"

"No. I've never been married."

"Really? That's hard to believe." Andrea said. "So, Jimmy, how's Ellie."

"I wouldn't know. She's doesn't talk to me. I haven't seen her in over a year."

"She was in Vegas?"

"No, L.A. She called me when her friend disappeared."

"And of course you went running. Why don't you let Nancy handle her?"

"Because she's my daughter, too, and nothing's gonna change that."

Andrea didn't push the subject any further. She and Jim didn't see each other very often and the last thing she wanted was for the evening to end with an argument. Not only that, she didn't know exactly what Jim's friends knew about the situation and didn't want to spill information they had no knowledge of. So the subject was dropped.

* * *

After dinner, Jim, Catherine and Nick made their way back to their hotel. They rode up to their rooms in the elevator together and the three stopped in front of Jim and Catherine's room. "You want to come in for a drink, Nick?" Catherine asked.

"No thanks. I'm tired. I'll see you guys in the morning." Nick said and went next door to his own room.

Jim unlocked the door and they entered their room. When he closed it, Catherine pushed him up against it and kissed him. He winced a little because of his lip but returned the kiss. Catherine wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her into him. She could feel his erection pressing into her. She loved that she had this effect on him because he definately had the same effect on her. In other words, they drove each other wild.

Jim pulled his jacket off as Catherine was pulling his shirt free from his pants. Jim pulled it over his head and threw it to the floor. Then he proceeded to remove Catherine's shirt and did so with ease. Next came her bra. Once that was off, Jim lowered his head and took the left nipple into his mouth.

Catherine moaned and Jim guided her to the bed. He laid her down and removed her pants, along with his own. He climbed on the bed and began exploring Catherine. He started at her throat, placing little kisses all the way down, until he made contact with her left breast. Gently he took the nipple into his mouth and started to flick his tongue over the sensitive flesh. He then moved to give the right one the same attention. During this little escapade, Catherine was moaning with extreme pleasure. Jim moved from her breasts, down her flat stomach, until he reached that magic spot between her thighs. He parted her with his fingers and moved his face down until his tongue came in contact with her womanhood. At this point, Catherine's body was writhing in pleasure and her moans were getting louder and louder. Jim continued his assault with his tongue until she came and her body finally relaxed.

Catherine then pulled Jim up to her and placed a deep, passionate kiss on his lips. Then she pushed him onto his back and straddled him. She kissed him again while running her fingers through his chest hair. She slowly slid down his body, finally finding what she had been searching for. Catherine took Jim's erection in her hand and lowered her head so she could take the tip into her mouth. As soon as her tongue made contact with the tip, he moaned. Loud.

Catherine started to move her mouth up and down until she had a steady rhythm going. Jim was feeling so much pleasure that for an instant he forgot his own name. Just then Catherine felt his balls tighten and knew he was about to come. But she didn't move. Jim warned her but she stayed in place and every last drop went down her throat.

Jim was spent. But he knew that their encounter was far from over. Catherine straddled Jim's thighs and positioned herself over his erection. When she felt she was lined up she impaled herself on him. Both looked at each other and Catherine started a slow pace. Jim placed his hands on her hips and without breaking pace he flipped her over onto her back on the bed. Jim started thrusting faster and faster and they both came together.

Jim and Catherine both collapsed on the bed. Breathing heavily and covered in sweat. Catherine didn't seem to have any complaints. Neither did Jim.

* * *

A few hours later, Jim and Catherine were woken up by someone pounding on the door. Jim got out of bed, pulled on his robe and went to the door. Before he answered it, Catherine stopped him. "Hand me your shirt, Jimmy."

Jim picked his shirt up off the floor and tossed it to Catherine. She quickly pulled it on and buttoned it. Jim pulled the door open, thinking, maybe it was Nick on the other side. It wasn't. Peter was standing on the other side and pushed past Jim when he opened the door. "Peter, what the fuck are you doing?" Jim asked.

"Jim, you have to leave town. Now!" Peter stated.

"What? I'm not going anywhere until I finish what I came to do."

"You don't understand. You don't have a choice. You have to leave."

"No _you_ don't understand, I have a dead body back in Vegas and it's my job to find out who killed him."

"Well, then, you leave me no choice, Jim." Peter said, pulling out his gun and pointing it at Jim.

**TBC...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Catherine was watching the whole exchange from the bed when she saw the gun. "NO!" she screamed.

When Peter heard her, he spun around and pointed the gun at Catherine. In an instance, Jim was on him and trying to wrestle the gun from him. Peter elbowed Jim in the stomach and Jim went down but not before knocking Peter off his feet as well. Both men were wrestling around on the floor when Catherine heard the most terrifying sound: the gun went off.

At that moment Nick came bursting into the room with his gun drawn. He looked at Catherine on the bed and then the two brothers on the floor. Peter slowly got up and looked at Jim laying on the floor bleeding from his abdomen.

Catherine jumped off the bed and ran to Jim. "Jim! Jimmy, don't you leave me. Not now." she said crying and pressing her hand against his abdomen to slow down the bleeding.

Nick called 911. Then he grabbed Peter and shoved him against the wall. "What the hell's wrong with you? That's your brother, man! If he dies, I'm coming after you!" Nick yelled.

The paramedics came into the room with a stretcher and began attending to Jim. He would have lost a lot more blood than he had if Catherine hadn't of kept pressure on his wound. They loaded Jim on the stretcher and wheeled him out to the bus. Catherine pulled on a pair of jeans and followed them. She was still wearing Jim's shirt, which was now covered in his blood.

Nick followed the ambulance in the SUV. He stayed on its tail the whole way. Which, under different circumstances, would have been illegal. But given the situation, Nick didn't give a shit right now what was legal and what wasn't. One of his best friends was fighting for his life in the back of that bus and he wasn't going to lose them.

* * *

In the ambulance, the paramedic was working on Jim, while Catherine sat beside him and held his hand. Catherine couldn't believe this was happening. She and Jim had just started a relationship and now she might lose him. She couldn't let that happen. Not now, not when she and Jim finally found love with each other.

Love. Catherine thought about that word, while she held on tightly to Jim's hand. Yes, she was falling in love with Jim Brass, but she could feel him slipping away. "No, Jimmy, you hang on. Don't you dare let go." Catherine said.

The bus pulled up to the emergency room doors; the paramedics jumped out and rushed Jim inside. Nick pulled into the parking lot and followed Catherine inside behind the stretcher. Andrea was there when they came running in with Jim.

She ran over to the stretcher and realized it was Jim lying there. "Oh my God, what happened?"

"He has a gun shot wound to the abdomen. He's lost quite a bit of blood, but we've managed to stabilize him."

"Get him straight into the OR." Andrea said and then saw Catherine and Nick standing there. "What the hell happened?"

"Peter showed up at the hotel and told Jim to leave town. Jim told him he wasn't going anywhere and that's when Peter pulled his gun."

"Wait! What, Peter shot Jimmy?"

"They were wrestling for it on the floor when it went off."

"Okay, I have to get in there. I'll let you know what's going on when I can, okay?"

"Okay. Just take good care of him, please." Catherine said as the tears started to fall again.

"I will. I promise." Andrea said and took off toward the OR.

* * *

Catherine and Nick were in the waiting room. Catherine was completely going out of her mind. She was praying that Jim would be okay and they would be able to have a life together. She sat down in a chair, put her head in her hands and began to cry again. Why did this have to happen? Why now, when they had finally found some happiness with each other and now it could all be taken away.

Nick moved beside Catherine and pulled her into a hug. He knew he wasn't the one she wanted right now, but he was going to try and comfort her the best he could. "Cath, he's gonna be all right. Jim's a tough son of a bitch."

"I know he is, Nick, but he lost a lot of blood." Catherine said looking down at Jim's bloodstained shirt that she was wearing.

"And he would have lost a lot more if you hadn't of been there. You saved his life, Cath."

At that moment Andrea came out from the OR and approached Catherine and Nick. When they saw her they both stood up. "Andrea! Please tell me he's okay." Catherine said frantically.

"I removed the bullet and stopped the bleeding. He's stabilized for the time being and I'm confident he'll make a full recovery. Jimmy's tough. He's been through worse and survived."

"Can we see him?" Nick asked.

"In a few minutes. We're getting him situated in a private room. When he's settled I'll come back and get you, okay?"

"Thanks, Andrea." Nick said. Andrea walked off and Nick pulled Catherine into another hug. "See, I told you he'd be fine."

"I don't want to lose him, Nick."

"You won't. Jim's gonna be around for a long time. Trust me."

* * *

A few minutes later, Andrea came back and showed Nick and Catherine to Jim's room. They walked into the room and looked at Jim lying in the bed. He looked pale and fragile and scared the shit out of Catherine. She sat down in one of the chairs by his bed, while Nick took the other one.

Catherine reached out and took Jim's hand. At least he felt warm. That eased Catherine's mind a little but it didn't stop the tears from falling. The man that she loved was lying in a hospital bed. Wait! The man she _loved_? Yes, Catherine loved Jim Brass and she wasn't going to lose him now.

Suddenly she swore she felt Jim squeeze her hand and she looked up at his face. He was lying there looking at her, with a smile planted on his tired face. "Jim, you're awake! I was so scared I was going to lose you." Catherine said.

"Never. I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me, Cath."

"How you doing, Jim?" Nick asked.

"I've been better, Nicky. But I'll be okay."

"Thank God. You gave us both quite a scare." Nick said.

"Where's Peter?" Jim asked.

"We don't know. He took off after the paramedics loaded you into the bus." Nick said.

Just then Jim looked down at the shirt that Catherine was wearing. "Cath, are you okay?"

"Jim, I'm not the one you should be worried about."

"You're covered in blood. You're not hurt?"

"No. Not physically anyway. This is your blood." Catherine said as the tears fell again.

"Hey, hey, I'm okay. I'm right here. I'm never going to leave you." Jim said.

"You can't promise that, Jim." Catherine replied.

"No, you're right, I can't. But I can promise to love you while I am here." Jim said.

"Hey, listen, I'm gonna take off." Nick said standing up.

"You don't have to leave." Jim said.

"It's okay. I wanna go back to the hotel anyway. I'll bring you back some clean clothes."

"Thanks, Nicky, I appreciate it, but I'll go back to the hotel and get my own clothes. I'll need to get a shower anyway."

Nick left Jim and Catherine to be alone. Truth be told he was starting to feel a little awkward. After Nick left, Catherine turned her attention back to Jim. They looked into each other eyes and wondered why they wasted all these years apart when they could have been happy together. But the main thing was they were together now and nothing was going to take them away from each other.

* * *

The backroom of Bada Bing was, of course, occupied by the Soprano crew: Christopher, Sil, Paulie, not to mention that Ralphie and Nicole were there and of course the head honcho himself, Tony.

The door burst opened and Peter came barreling in. He was covered in sweat and blood. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. "Hey, Pete, what the fuck are you doing when you leaving here?" Sil asked.

"I got a major problem."

"What else is new?" Christopher asked.

"Shut the fuck up, Chrissy. What's going on, Pete?" Paulie asked.

"I went to see my brother, things got a little heated and I shot him." Peter said.

"You shot him? Did anyone see you?" Tony asked.

"Well, he's not in town alone."

"Why didn't you fucking tell us this before?" Tony yelled.

"I didn't know, Tony, I swear."

"So, where is he now?" Ralphie asked.

"He's in the hospital. The guy that's in town with him called an ambulance."

"So, who else is here with him?" Nicole asked.

"Some woman. His girlfriend, maybe, I don't know but they were in bed together when I showed up at the hotel."

"Let me handle them, Tony." Nicole said.

"Hold on. Let's just think here for a second. They know you did it, Pete, so your best bet is to get out of town. We'll take care of this fucking mess." Tony said.

"Tony, listen, me and Jim might not get along but I don't want him dead."

"I said we'll handle things, Pete. Now get the fuck out of here."

Peter left as fast as he could.

"So, T. what are we gonna do?" Christopher asked.

Tony turned to Nicole. "I want you to bring that fucking woman here. If Pete couldn't get them to leave town by talking to his brother. Maybe this broad will listen to fucking reason."

"I'm on it, Tony. I'll find her." Nicole said and left the room.

* * *

Catherine and Andrea were talking outside of Jim's room. "Jimmy's sleeping now. I'm gonna go back to the hotel and clean up. I'll try to be back before he wakes up. If I'm not, tell him I won't be long." Catherine said.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine." Andrea said.

Catherine left the hospital and made her way to the parking garage. Since Nick had taken a cab back to the hotel, Catherine had the SUV waiting for her. She climbed in behind the wheel and sat there for a few minutes thinking about what had happened in the last few hours.

Finally she started the engine. She drove out of the parking garage and onto the dark streets of Newark. She was relieved that Jim was going to be okay. She turned on the radio to take her mind off things but it didn't help. The song that was playing was Kidnap an Angel by Bon Jovi.

I close my eyes

Take a deep breath

Then sit down beside

Your hospital bed

If I could kidnap an angel

I'd clip off his wings

Then bring him to you

That would fix everything

The tears fell from Catherine's eyes again as she pulled up to the hotel. She parked the SUV and sat behind the wheel and cried harder than she ever had. Jim was going to be all right but Catherine was still scared about what had happened. How did things come to this?

She wiped her face and got out of the SUV. She made her way to her room. When she walked in she saw didn't see any blood anywhere. The hotel staff did a hell of a job. She walked into the bathroom and started the shower when there was a knock on the door.

Catherine turned the shower off and went to answer it. When she opened the door, Nick was standing on the other side. "Hi. I heard the door close and thought you might need some company." Nick said.

"I appreciate that, Nicky. But I was just gonna take a shower and go back to the hospital. I want to be there before Jim wakes up."

"Okay. I'm gonna go back to my room and get some sleep then."

"Thanks for checking on me, though."

"Anytime, Cath."

Nick left and Catherine went back to her shower. She stood under the hot shower and let it massage her aching and tired muscles. As much as she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about Jim. Maybe they should go back to Vegas. If it meant Jim's life being in danger, solving this case wasn't worth it.

* * *

Nicole went to Ralphie's house. Not for any particular reason, it was just to see him. When she walked in the door, Ralphie grabbed her and kissed her hard. When he broke the kiss he whispered in her ear. "I need you, now."

"Lead the way, baby." Nicole said.

They ripped each other's clothes off and he told Nicole to climb onto the bed. Then followed her. Usually their sex contained bondage and toys but right now all Ralphie wanted was straight sex. Something very unusual for him.

Ralphie kissed Nicole passionately. Then positioned himself gently overtop of her. He quickly and smoothly slid into her. He could feel her tense immediately around him. He began to thrust, slowly at first, and then picked up speed. Their bodies were moving at a wild pace, keeping perfect time with their much-labored breathing, allowing the pleasure to climb. Ralphie quickened the pace, he felt the tension grow as her whole body shook with her release, followed by Ralphie.

They both rolled over, panting and sweating and thoroughly enjoying the wild lovemaking session they had just both endured. Nicole looked over at Ralphie and smiled. "I'd love to stay but I have to take care of something for Tony."

"Okay. I'll see you later, right?" Ralphie asked.

"Definitely." Nicole said. She got out of bed, got dressed and left.

* * *

Catherine was just finishing getting dressed and reapplying fresh makeup, before she made her way back to the hotel. She checked herself one more time in the mirror and left the room.

She made her way down to the hotel parking lot. Seeing Jim was the only thing on her mind right now. She made it to the SUV and was about to open the door when something hard and heavy smashed her on the back of the head. Catherine fell to the ground like a ton of bricks.

Nicole tossed the pipe into the back of her truck, along with Catherine and peeled out of the garage. If Peter's brother Jim wouldn't listen to reason, maybe this woman would, Nicole thought. But if she doesn't, her mind can easily be changed.

**TBC...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Nicole pulled up in the parking lot of Bada Bing and went around to the back of the truck to get Catherine. She pulled her out of the truck and carried her in the back entrance.

Tony, Christopher, Sil, Paulie and Ralphie were waiting for her. Nicole dropped Catherine on the couch and then turned to Tony. "That's her. I grabbed her at her hotel."

"Good work. Now we just gotta wait for her to regain fucking consciousness." Tony said.

About an hour later Catherine started to come to. She started to sit up, when she felt the huge bump on the back of her head. She felt the matted hair that was caused by the dried blood. Catherine looked around the room. Tony got up from his chair and walked over to her.

"Well, look who's finally awake." he said.

"Who are you and why am I here?" Catherine asked.

"You're here because your fucking boyfriend wouldn't listen and get out of town. But he paid the price didn't he?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, well, Jimmy's not about to be bullied and neither am I." Catherine said.

"Listen, you dumb fucking twat, you better get out of town or some really bad shit's gonna happen to you and your friends." Sil said.

Ralphie laughed at Sil's remark. He always laughed at the way Sil treated the women who gave him a hard time.

"We're not going anywhere." Catherine stated. She told herself that the case wasn't worth solving if it meant Jim's life or her and Nick's lives for that matter, were put in danger. But now she wasn't gonna back down and submit to this bullying, no they didn't realize who they were dealing with. Catherine's one tough lady.

"Well, then you leave us no fucking choice." Tony said and turned to Nicole and Christopher. "You do what you gotta do."

When Catherine heard that she tried to make a run for the door. She didn't get far, when Nicole clubbed her on the back of the head for the second time that day.

* * *

Nick left the hotel, grabbed a cab and made his way to the hospital. When he arrived he went straight to Jim's room. He knocked on the door, entered and expected to see Catherine sitting with Jim. But he was alone. "Where's Catherine?" Nick asked.

"Andrea told me she went back to the hotel to change." Jim told him.

"She hasn't been back here?" Nick asked.

"No. But Cath told Andrea not to worry if she wasn't back when I woke up."

"I heard her leave the hotel, Jim. Where else would she go?"

"You don't think something happened?"

"Well, I mean, Peter's still out there. There's no telling what he'd do."

Just then the door opened and both men turned their attention to it. Both were praying to see Catherine walk through the door. It was only Andrea. She looked at both men and didn't like the expressions on their faces. "What's going on?"

"Have you seen Catherine today?" Jim asked.

"Yeah. She said she was going back to the hotel to shower and change."

"She hasn't been back here since then?" Nick asked.

"No, I haven't seen her since she left here this morning. Is something wrong?"

"Nick said she left the hotel some time ago and that she was coming back here." Jim said.

"She hasn't been back here, Jimmy." Andrea said with worry coming from her voice.

Now the panic was starting to set in. Jim tried to get out of bed but the pain stopped him from even sitting up. Andrea and Nick helped him to lay back down. "Take it easy, Jim. You should stay in bed." Nick said.

"He's right, Jimmy, don't hurt yourself anymore than you already are."

"If Catherine's in trouble I have to find her." Jim said.

"Hey, Jim, I'll go back to the hotel and check things out. Maybe she's still there. I didn't exactly check the room."

"Thanks, Nick, but let me know either way, okay?" Jim said.

"I will, Jim, and don't worry, I'm sure Cath's fine."

* * *

Christopher and Nicole were speeding their way toward the Pine Barrens. Nicole was behind the wheel and felt like she could make this trip with her eyes closed. Christopher looked in the back where Catherine was still out. She wasn't moving and Christopher couldn't tell it she was breathing. "I think she might be fucking dead."

"So? That saves us the trouble when we fucking get there." Nicole said.

She made a sharp turn and parked the truck in the same place she had when she had taken care of McKenzy. Nicole and Christopher got out and went around to the back of the truck. Christopher opened the back door and he and Nicole grabbed Catherine and pulled her out onto the ground.

Christopher went to grab Catherine when she jumped up, kicked him right in the nuts and took off running through the woods. Christopher went down like a ton of bricks, while Nicole took off after Catherine.

Catherine ran a good distance before she tripped over something and fell to the ground. She managed to get back to her feet and looked behind her. She swore it was a grave she tripped over. Just then she heard someone coming and took off again.

"Hey, wait up. Slow the fuck down, Nikki." Christopher yelled.

"Slow down? She's fucking getting away." Nicole shouted back and took off faster.

Catherine was ahead of them but had no clue where she was going. She decided to make a circle and hopefully end up back at the truck. She heard them yelling and swearing as she made her way back around.

"What the fuck? Great! I just stepped in mud and now my shoe's gone!" Nicole yelled.

"It's your own fucking fault. You should watch where you're fucking going." Christopher yelled back.

"If you hadn't of fucking let her get away, we wouldn't have this problem."

"Hey, I wasted my fucking day to help you out. So shut the fuck up and let's find her."

They took off again in the direction that they last saw Catherine going. What they didn't know was that Catherine had doubled back and was making her way to the truck. Nicole was now running through the woods with only one shoe on.

Nicole and Christopher had decided to turn around and make their way back to the truck. They wanted to wait and see if she made her way back to the truck. As they neared the truck they heard the engine roar to life. They ran as fast as they could in the direction of the truck. They made it back just in time to see Catherine take off with the truck.

"You left the fucking keys in the ignition?" Christopher yelled.

"How was I supposed to know she'd come back to the truck?" Nicole yelled back.

"Okay, what the fuck are we supposed to do now?" Christopher asked.

"I'll call Tony. He'll send someone to get us." Nicole said pulling out her phone.

"Are you fucking insane? You're gonna tell Tony we fucked up? We might as well just shoot ourselves right here!" Christopher said.

"Well, what do you suggest we fucking do?"

"Start walking."

"Fuck you! I only got one shoe."

"That's not my fault. Let's go."

* * *

Catherine drove well over the speed limit. She didn't even know if she was going in the right direction. Right now she didn't care. She just wanted to get as far away from Nicole Christopher as she possibly could. She passed a sign on the side of the road that said Newark - next exit.

At least she knew she was going in the right direction. She may not want to be submit to the bullying that the Soprano crew was putting out, but she also wanted to make it back home to Vegas in one piece. Along with Jim and Nick.

She took the exit and made her way back into Newark. She was going to head straight to the hospital. For two reasons: One - she needed her head checked out and two - she desperately wanted to be with Jim.

* * *

Nick was back at the hotel room checking everything out. Catherine was nowhere to be found. What was Nick gonna tell Jim? As soon as he finds out he's not gonna want to stay in the hospital. Nick tried to think positive. She could have gone out for something she remembered she needed.

Nick made his way down to the parking lot, praying that the SUV wouldn't be there. It was there, in the exact same spot that Catherine had parked it when she came back to the hotel that day. Now Nick was getting frantic. The SUV was there but Catherine was nowhere to be found.

He ran out to the front of the hotel. He didn't want to tell Jim, but what choice did he have? Not only that he promised Jim he'd tell him what was going on either way.

* * *

Catherine made her way into the parking lot of the hospital. She parked the truck and made her way inside. She couldn't wait to see Jim. As she was walking down the hall, she ran into Andrea. "Catherine! Thank God! Are you okay? Where have you been?"

"Long story. Right now, I just want to see Jim."

"He's been worried sick about you." Catherine turned around and made her way to Jim's room when Andrea stopped her. "What the hell happened to your head?"

"I was attacked."

"Come on, I'll check you out. Make sure you don't have a concussion."

"Not right now. I want to be with Jimmy."

"I really think you should let me check you out."

"Fine. But let's make it quick."

Andrea took Catherine into an examining room. They walked by Justin's hospital room on the way and Ralphie noticed her. He couldn't believe it. Nicole and Christopher were supposed to take care of her. This was not gonna go over well with Tony.

Ralphie walked out of Justin's room and pulled out his cell phone. The phone rang twice before Tony answered. "Tony? It's Ralphie. We got a major fucking problem."

"What's going on, Ralph?"

"That broad that Chrissy and Nikki were supposed to take care of?"

"Yeah, what about her?"

"She just walked into the fucking hospital."

"FUCK! Stupid fucking assholes couldn't do a simple fucking job!"

"I gotta go, Tony, just thought you should know."

"Thanks, Ralph, I appreciate it."

Ralphie hung up his phone and went back into Justin's room as Nick made his way down the hall to Jim's room. He knocked and then entered. "Hey, Nick, please tell me you found her?" Jim asked.

"Sorry, Jim, she wasn't at the hotel. The SUV was still parked in its space."

"I don't like the sound of that, Nick." Jim said trying to get out of bed.

"Jim, you gotta stay in bed and take it easy."

"Catherine could in danger. I'm not gonna lay around here and let something bad happen to her." Jim said as the door to his room opened.

Both men looked toward the door. Catherine walked in and smiled at Jim. "Glad to know you worry about me, Jim."

"Where the hell have you been?" Jim asked.

"I was grabbed by a member of the Soprano crew."

"What?" Nick asked.

"They brought me to see him. He said get out of town or some bad shit's gonna go down." Catherine said.

"Damn right! He's not getting away with hurting you." Jim stated.

"What did you tell him?" Nick asked.

"I told him we don't give in to bullying. That's when he tried to have me killed."

"He what?" Jim yelled.

"Two of them took me to a secluded area and were gonna kill me, when I got away. I took off into the woods and then doubled back to the truck. The keys were in the ignition, so I jumped in and took off. Finally, made my way back here."

"Thank God you're all right." Jim said and then laughed. "So, those two are stranded in the middle of nowhere?"

"Yeah. I heard them arguing. One of them, a woman, lost her shoe." They all laughed. "I did trip over a grave out there, though."

"That doesn't surprise me. That's probably their burial ground." Jim stated.

At that, Catherine climbed onto the bed and snuggled up with Jim as much as she could without hurting him. They were both gonna be okay.

* * *

Christopher and Nicole were still walking. For that last hour or so they tried to hitch a ride but no one would stop. "I can't believe you left the fucking keys in the truck. You stupid fucking..." Christopher was saying.

"Okay, okay, I get it. I fucked up. I'm so fucking sorry." Nicole stated sarcastically. "At least you have your fucking shoes."

"Hey, here comes another car. Let's try this again." Christopher stuck his thumb out but the car went right by them. It didn't even slow down.

"Got anymore bright ideas?" Nicole asked. "My foot's fucking freezing. Give me _your_ shoes."

"Fuck you! I'm not giving you anything. It's your fault we're in this mess."

"Well, I didn't see you making an effort to get the keys."

"You were driving. The keys were your fucking problem."

"If you don't stop fucking complaining and blaming me I'll cap you myself." Nicole said.

"Here comes another car." Christopher stuck his thumb out yet again, this time the car pulled over and stopped. Christopher walked up to the window. "Hey, can you give us drive back to Newark?"

"Yeah, sure, hop in. I'm going that way anyway," the man behind the wheel said.

Nicole and Christopher jumped in and finally made their way back to Newark.

* * *

The man dropped Nicole and Christopher off in the Bada Bing parking lot. They slowly made their way inside. Tony, Sil and Paulie were sitting in the back room, wondering where they were. They walked into the room. Nicole was covered in mud on her right leg.

"Where the fuck have you two been?" Tony asked.

"We ran into some trouble." Christopher said.

"Yeah, I know what fucking happened." Tony stated.

"How do you know?" Nicole asked.

"Ralph called. She showed up at the fucking hospital." Tony said. "You wanna explain that?"

"She took off with the truck." Nicole replied.

"How did she get the fucking truck?" Sil asked.

"She got away from us and apparently doubled back around to the truck. We left the keys in the ignition." Christopher answered.

"FUCK!" Tony screamed, picked up a chair and threw it against the wall.

"T. Take it easy."

"Take it easy. I thought you could take fucking care of it." Tony yelled.

"Give us another chance, Tony, we'll take care of her." Nicole said.

"No! You had you're fucking chance. Now I have to un-fuck what you two fucked up!" Tony stated and stormed out of the club.

**TBC...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Tony ended up in the parking lot of Bada Bing, when he felt someone approaching him from behind. He turned quickly and came face to face with Peter. "What the fuck are you doing here?" Tony asked.

"Hey, Tony, I know you wanted me to leave town, but I fucked this up and I want to set things straight."

"You want to set things straight, you take care of that dumb fucking broad that came to town with your brother."

"What? Why, what the fuck is going on?" Peter asked.

"We tried to talk to her. She didn't want to fucking listen. Now she's a problem."

"Tony, no one has to get hurt. I'll make sure they leave town."

"You already tried that, remember? Your brother ended up in the hospital."

"Give me another chance. I won't fuck up this time."

"Fine. But you better fucking take care of it this time." Tony said and went back inside the club.

Peter jumped in his car and made his way to the hospital. He had to make things right, that was for certain. And he had to start with Jim.

* * *

Tony walked into the backroom and sat down at his desk. "I just saw Pete outside in the parking lot. I gave him a chance to redeem himself. He's gonna take care of her."

"T. we got another problem." Christopher said.

"What the fuck is it now?"

"She knows where McKenzy's buried."

"How the fuck could she know that?" Paulie asked.

"She tripped over the grave when she took off." Nicole said.

"Nic, you and Paulie get the fuck out there and move that body." Tony said.

"You got it, T. We'll get rid of the cocksucker for good." Paulie said as he and Nicole left the club.

* * *

Jim and Catherine were lying in his hospital, while Nick sat in a chair by the bed. Suddenly, Catherine sat up and looked from Jim to Nick and back to Jim. "We should go take a look at that grave." Catherine said.

"What? I don't think so. I don't want you going back there." Jim said.

"I'll take Nick with me. It could lead us to who killed Roselli and Romano." Catherine stated.

Nick looked at Catherine. "Cath, I think Jim's right. We should stay put."

"Nicky, we came here to do a job and I'm not gonna let these guys stop me."

"Honey, we understand that, but these guys aren't small potatoes. They're hardcore." Jim said.

"I'm not gonna sit here and do nothing. I'm gonna find that grave." Catherine said getting up from the bed. "Now, I can either go alone, or you can join me Nick."

Nick looked at Jim. He didn't know what to do. "Go with her, Nicky. We can't stop her and this way she won't be alone." Jim said. Nick stood up and followed Catherine to the door. "Take care of her, Nick."

"I will, Jim. Take care of yourself."

Nick and Catherine left Jim's hospital room. At this point, Jim didn't know what to do. He did know one thing for certain, he loved Catherine Willows and he wasn't gonna let anything happen to her.

* * *

Nicole and Paulie were making their way to the Pine Barrens in Paulie's car. He was behind the wheel and Nicole was in the passenger's seat. "So, I still can't believe you fucked this up." Paulie said looking at her.

"It was more Chrissy's fault than it was mine." Nicole stated.

"I just don't fucking understand. You can take out McKensy alone, but you and Chrissy together lose that stupid fucking twat." Paulie said.

"She ambushed Chris. She jumped out of the fucking truck and kicked him in the nuts."

Paulie looked at Nicole. "Serves him right, the little fucking prick. He shouldn't have let his guard down."

"See I told you it was all his fault."

"Yeah, well, just don't let T. find out, or Chrissy won't be around for too much longer."

* * *

Catherine was speeding her way toward the Pine Barrens. Nick had his hands on the dashboard, holding on for dear life. "Hey, Cath, you wanna slow down. I really want to get there alive."

"Like hell I'm gonna slow down. I'm not giving these assholes the satisfaction of getting away with murder."

"Listen, Cath, these guys are dangerous and I really like having the use of my arms and legs." Nick said.

"Quite whining, Nick, you're a grown man."

"All I'm saying is, there are safer ways to deal with this."

"Oh, yeah, and what might they be?" Catherine asked.

"We could take their advice and go back to Vegas."

"I can't believe you just said that. You want to go back to Vegas and let these guys win?"

Nick didn't pursue the conversation further. He just hoped that Catherine knew what she was getting them into.

* * *

Jim couldn't lay around any longer, he had to be with Catherine. This time thought, it wasn't only Catherine he was worried about, Nick's life was also in danger now. Jim got out of bed and winced at the pain as he placed his feet on the floor.

He made his way to the bathroom and got dressed as best he could. It was a very painful and time consuming task. Before he buttoned up his shirt, he checked out his bandages to make sure there was no blood seeping through. They were clean.

He finished dressing and made his way out to the front desk. The nurse behind it watched him approach. "Mr. Brass, you should be in bed."

"I'm leaving." Jim stated. "Now, where do I sign."

"I should get Dr. Brass. She wants you to stay in bed," the nurse said.

"Listen, I'm leaving here, whether you like it or not. Now, again, where do I sign."

"Fine. But just so you know, I'm signing you out against doctor's orders."

"I don't care. I'm leaving."

The nurse handed Jim the forms. Jim was about to sign the release forms when he realized that he had no idea where Catherine and Nick went. Just then he noticed two men some out of a hospital room. Jim recognized the bigger man as Tony Soprano.

Jim made an effort to try and hear what they were saying. "So, have you seen Nic today?" Ralphie asked.

"I sent her and Paulie to get rid of that fucking body that she buried in the Pine Barrens." Tony said. "She fucked up big time. Her and Christopher both."

"What about that woman? The one that's here from Vegas?"

"Pete's gonna take care of her."

When Jim heard that he quickly scribbled his signature and left the hospital as fast as he could. He grabbed a cab and went back to the hotel. He could only hope that the SUV was still there. He walked into the parking lot and found it still parked in its space.

He crouched down and reached under the rear tire. Catherine always kept an extra key in one of those magnetic boxes and it was coming in handy now. Jim pulled the key from the box and got into the SUV. He had to stop Peter before anyone else got hurt.

* * *

Paulie pulled the car in among the trees and he and Nicole got out. Paulie went around to the back and got two shovels from the trunk. "Okay, now where is this prick buried?"

"Over this way." Nicole said and started walking.

Paulie followed her. As they made their way toward the body, they weren't aware that they had company. Catherine pulled the truck right up behind Paulie's car. Catherine and Nick jumped out of the truck and walked up to Paulie's car. "Looks like someone beat us here." Nick said.

"Yeah. They're probably trying to get rid of the body that they buried here." Catherine stated. "Come on, Nicky, let's go."

Nick followed Catherine into the woods. They walked a good distance until they thought they heard someone digging. They both ducked behind a tree and watched Nicole and Paulie digging away. Catherine recognized both of them.

"They were both at the place I was taken to and she's the one who tried to kill me." Catherine whispered to Nick.

Just then they heard footsteps and moved out of sight. They caught sight of the person as they walked by. It was Peter.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Nick asked.

"I don't know but I get the feeling something bad's gonna happen." Catherine replied.

Peter walked up to Nicole and Paulie. "Pete, what the fuck are you doing here?" Paulie asked.

"I'm righting my wrongs, Paulie." Peter said as he pulled his gun.

"Whoa, Pete, you don't want to fucking do this." Paulie said.

Jim had parked the SUV by Peter's car and made his way toward the shouting. He saw Peter standing there with the gun pointed at Paulie and Nicole. When Catherine and Nick saw Jim they revealed themselves. "Jimmy! What the hell are you doing here?" Catherine asked.

At that, Peter, turned toward them. As he turned Paulie tried to hit him with the shovel. "Watch out, Peter!" Jim yelled.

Peter turned back toward Paulie and fired off a shot. It missed Paulie and hit Nicole in her right shoulder. She went down. Paulie stopped in his tracks and turned back toward Nicole. He saw her bleeding on the ground and ran to her.

He helped her up from the ground and told her to keep pressure on the wound. "Come on, Nic, I'll get you to a hospital." He passed Peter and stared him straight in the face. "You fuck! You're fucking dead, you scumbag!"

Paulie left with Nicole and Jim walked over to Peter. "What the fuck were you doing?" Jim asked.

"I had to make things right, Jim."

"Right for who?"

"Right for you, for me, for everyone who's been hurt. I don't wanna live like this anymore." Peter said, fell to his knees and started to cry. "I didn't mean to shoot you, Jimmy."

Jim kneeled down beside his brother and put an arm around his shoulder. "I know, Pete."

"It shouldn't have gone this far. I just wanted you to leave town so you wouldn't get hurt."

Jim helped Peter up and they made their way back to the cars. Catherine and Nick stood there watching them before they followed along. Catherine couldn't believe that Jim was helping Peter, after all that had happened. Well, actually she could believe it. That was just the kind of guy Jim was. Catherine and Nick hopped in the SUV, while Jim went with Peter in his car. They left Nicole's truck at the Barrens, only because they didn't need it anymore.

* * *

Paulie was speeding toward the hospital. Nicole was sitting in the passenger's seat, with her head resting against the headrest and applying pressure to the bullet wound. "Hang in there, kid, I'll get you to a doctor." Paulie said.

"Paulie... I... want that fucker... dead." Nicole said taking deep gasping breaths.

"Don't you worry, sweetheart, he's already dead." Paulie reassured her.

Minutes later, Paulie was pulling up to the emergency entrance. He jumped out of the car and ran around to the passenger's side. He opened the door and helped Nicole into the hospital.

* * *

Andrea went into Jim's room to check on him. She walked in and all she saw was an empty bed. Where the hell was he? Although this didn't surprise Andrea in the least, Jim had always hated hospitals.

She walked out to the nurse's station. "Lucy? When did Jim Brass leave?" Andrea asked.

Before Lucy could answer, Paulie walked up to Andrea with Nicole. "What the hell happened?" Andrea asked.

"She's been shot. Fucking help her." Paulie said.

Andrea caught an orderly and told him to get a stretcher. Paulie and the orderly put Nicole on the stretcher and Andrea wheeled her down the hall. They passed Justin's room and Tony and Ralphie ran out into the hall. "What the fuck's going on?" Tony asked.

"We were digging up that fucking body, Pete Brass showed up and he fucking shot her." Paulie said.

"What? Where is that motherfucker?" Ralphie asked.

"Ralphie we'll take care of that prick. You need to be here for Nikki." Paulie said.

"No, I'll take care of him. You leave that cocksucker to me."

* * *

Jim and Peter were driving back to Newark in Peter's car. Nick and Catherine were following behind in the SUV. "What the fuck were you thinking, Peter?" Jim asked.

"I don't know, Jimmy, but I'm so fucked now. They're gonna come after me. That was Tony's cousin I shot. Now, you and your friends have to leave town before they come after you."

Jim shook his head. "Pete they're already after us. Look, we may not have spoken in years but I want to help you. I don't want you to end up dead."

"Jimmy, if you stick around here, we're all gonna be dead. Don't you get it? These guys don't fuck around. If they want you dead, that's it, you're dead. So, please, get out of town and fast, okay?"

Jim wasn't backing down. "No, it's not okay. I'm not leaving here knowing that your life's in danger."

Peter glanced over at Jim. "You really mean that, don't you?"

"Of course I do. You're my brother." Jim stated.

* * *

Tony, Christopher, Paulie, Sil and Ralphie were sitting in the waiting room. "I can't believe that fucking prick." Sil said.

"Don't worry, that cocksucker's dead." Tony said. "He told me he wanted to make things right. I didn't fucking think this is what he meant."

"Let us take care of this T. He'll never be seen again." Paulie said.

"No, I want this asshole myself." Ralphie stated. "I think I'm entitled."

"Ralph's right. He should take Pete out himself." Tony said.

They all sat in silence. Ralphie couldn't believe that Peter had shot Nicole. His best friend and Justin's godfather, and now he was going to have to kill him. This wasn't gonna be easy but it had to be done and he had to do it. He had to get Nicole some form of justice; even if killing his best friend was the way to get it.

**TBC...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Catherine dropped Nick off at the hospital to talk to Andrea and then went back to the hotel to see Jim and Peter. Catherine parked her SUV and made her way upstairs to the room. She carefully opened the door not knowing what to expect. Jim may have forgiven Peter but Catherine was still skeptical about him. She didn't trust him as far as she could throw him.

Catherine walked into the room and saw Jim and Peter sitting there talking. Jim saw her come in and walked over to her. "Hey, you okay?" he asked wrapping his arms around Catherine.

"I'm okay. I dropped Nick off at the hospital. He wanted to talk to Andrea." Catherine said leaning her head against Jim's shoulder.

"About what?" Peter asked, looking at his brother and Catherine.

Catherine looked at Peter. "He wanted to make sure Andrea was okay and warn her about everything that happened."

"Yeah, that sounds like Nick." Jim said. "I just hope he watches his back."

* * *

Nick made his way into the hospital and searched for Andrea. He took the elevator up to the third floor and walked down to the nurses station. There was a nurse sitting behind the desk. "Can I help you, sir?" she asked.

"I'm looking for Dr. Andrea Brass." Nick answered.

"She's making her rounds right now. If you'd like to wait, she'll be back shortly."

"Thanks. I will." Nick said and took a seat by the nurses desk.

A half hour later Andrea showed up and saw Nick sitting there. "Hey, Nick. You wanna tell me why Jimmy signed himself out?"

Nick stood up. "Can we talk somewhere private?" Nick asked.

"Okay. Let's go to my office."

As Nick and Andrea made their way down the hall to her office they had to pass the waiting room. Tony and his crew were still sitting there waiting for news about Nicole. Paulie looked up and recognized Nick. He jumped up from his seat and turned around to look at Tony. "Hey T. that guy that just walked by." Paulie said.

"Yeah, what about him?" Tony asked.

"He was in the Barrens when Nic was shot. I bet he knows where Pete is."

Ralphie jumped up. "Let's go get him."

"Not right now. Let's wait until we have a better shot at grabbing him. And while we're at it we can grab Pete's sister for collateral." Tony said.

As Tony said that line an alarm sounded and a nurse annouced a code blue over the intercom. Andrea heard it and turned to Nick. "We'll talk later, I have to take care of this."

"Okay, later." Nick said.

Andrea ran past the waiting room and noticed the Soprano crew waiting there. Ralphie watched her run down the hall and disappear into Nicole's room. After Ralphie saw this he ran down the hall after Andrea to see what was going on. After Ralphie disappeared Tony turned to Paulie and Christopher. "Now that we have a diversion go grab that prick."

"What about Pete's sister?" Paulie asked.

"Forget about her. We'll deal with him for now." Tony said.

"No problem T., we'll handle it." Christopher replied.

Paulie and Christopher saw Nick about to walk off down the hall and caught up with him. Paulie placed an arm around Nick's shoulder's. "Hey, pal, let's take a walk."

Christopher put a gun into Nick's back. Nick looked back at Christopher. "Just do what he fucking says, alright?"

They walked Nick down the hallway and to a nearby elevator. Once the car arrived they all got on and made their way down to the parking garage. Paulie got into the driver's seat and Christopher put Nick into the backseat at gunpoint. "Hey guys what's going on here?" Nick asked.

"Shut the fuck up!" Paulie said from the driver's seat. "You'll find out soon enough."

* * *

Andrea ran into the room and noticed Nicole had flatlined. "Inject adrenaline into her IV line." Andrea ordered.

"Yes, Doctor." the nurse replied and injected the IV line.

Ralphie had made his way into the room and was watching them working on her. Andrea looked back and saw him standing there. "Ralph, get the hell out of here!" she yelled.

Ralphie looked at her. "I'm not going anywhere until I know she's okay."

"Look, you staying here is only spreading germs. I'll talk to you when we have her stabalized. Now get out of here!"

Ralphie was about to speak but took one look at Andrea's expression and backed out of the room. The adrenaline that the nurse injected was doing it's job and her heart rate returned to normal. When everything was settled and Nicole was out of danger she finally started breathing on her own. When Andrea felt confident enough she had the tube removed from Nicole's throat.

She walked back out to the waiting room and saw Ralphie and Tony waiting there. Ralphie stood up when he saw her. "Is Nicole okay?" he asked.

"She's fine. She's breathing on her own now so I removed the tube from her throat. You can see her in a few hours."

"Thank you."

Tony placed a hand on Ralphie's shoulder. "Listen, I got something to take care of. You call me if anything happens."

"I will, Tony, thanks for everything."

Tony and Ralphie hugged and Tony left the hospital.

* * *

Back at the hotel Catherine, Jim and Peter were still talking. "Look, Jimmy, if Nick learned anything from you it's to always cover his ass." Catherine said.

"Yeah, I just hope he listens." Jim replied. "But I'm gonna call Andrea to see if everthing's okay."

Jim walked over to the phone and dialed Andrea's office. She picked up on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Andrea? It's Jim. Is Nick there with you?"

"No, Jim. He came by and wanted to talk to me but I had to take care of a patient. I thought he would stick around but he must be on his way back to the hotel."

"Okay, thanks. I'll talk to you later." Jim hung up the phone and looked at Catherine and Peter. "Andrea said he left. He's probably on his way back here."

"You better hope so." Peter said. "The last thing you want is the Soprano crew to grab him."

* * *

Paulie pulled the car into the garage and parked it. Christopher pulled Nick out and pulled him into a back room. They tied Nick to chair just as Tony walked into the room. He walked up to Nick and looked him right in the eye. "Where the fuck is Peter Brass?"

"Who?" Nick asked.

Paulie walked over to Nick and punched him in the face. "Don't fuck with us. I saw you at the Barrens. You were there with that red head that's in town with Pete's brother."

"I don't what you're talking about. I was at the hospital visiting my girlfriend when you two grabbed me." Nick said.

Tony looked from Nick to Paulie and Christopher and then back to Nick. "You telling me you're dating Andrea Brass?" Tony asked.

"Yeah. For the last few months now."

Tony looked back at Paulie. "I swear T. he was at the Barrens with that red head."

Tony looked back to Nick. Nick looked at Tony. "I've never even heard of the Barrens. I've never been there in my life."

"You stupid fuck!" Paulie yelled and started wailing on Nick. He punched him over and over again until the chair fell over and he started kicking him.

Finally Tony stopped him. "Paulie. Fucking stop. We'll verify this information with Andrea and if he's lying, I'll let you finish him."

Nick was gasping for a breath from the floor but her heard what Tony had said and prayed that Andrea would realize what was going on and would cover his tracks.

* * *

About an hour and a half later Andrea let Ralphie in to see Nicole. He walked into the room and walked over to the side of the bed. She was a little drowsy but awake. Ralphie sat down by the bed and took her hand. "Hey. You scared the shit out of me." Ralphie said.

"You think you were scared. I saw the white light." Nicole joked.

"That's not funny. I thought I was going to lose you."

"Never. I'm a Soprano. It takes more than a bullet to stop us. But I just want you to know, even though Pete didn't mean to shoot me, he should pay for it."

"I know, baby, and he will. Don't worry about it." Ralphie said trying to ease her mind. "I don't know where he is right now but I'll find him."

"Let the crew handle it, Ralphie, I want you to stay with me."

"I'd really feel a lot better if I took care of it myself."

"No, they can handle it. Promise me you won't leave me."

Ralphie hesitated for a moment and then looked into Nicole's eyes. "Okay, babe, I promise I'll stay here with you."

* * *

Back at the hotel Jim, Catherine and Peter were still waiting for Nick. It had been an hour since Jim talked to Andrea and it took less time than that to get back to the hotel. "Maybe he stopped off somewhere." Jim said.

"Jim, face it, something bad happened." Peter replied.

Catherine looked from Peter to Jim. "Okay, come on we have to think positive here. I'm sure Nick's okay." she said. "Let's give him another hour and then if he's not back then we'll have something to worry about."

"Catherine's right. Let's just give him some more time." Jim stated.

Peter shook his head. "I'm telling you they got him. I can feel it."

* * *

Nick was back in a sitting position but still tied to the chair. He could definately feel a few ribs broken, not to mention his nose. All he could think about was: How the fuck did they get into this situation?

Tony opened his cell phone and dialed the Newark Beth Israel Medical Center to talk to Andrea. On the fouth ring a woman answered. "Beth Israel how can help you?" she asked.

"I need to talk to Dr. Andrea Brass." Tony replied.

"One moment please."

Tony was patched through to Andrea's office. She picked up on the second ring. "Hello?" she said.

"Dr. Brass?"

"Yes."

"This is Tony Soprano. I need to know something."

"I'll help you if I can."

Tony placed his hand over the phone and looked at Nick. "What's your name?" he asked.

Nick didn't answer him. This resulted in Paulie punching him in the gut again. "Answer him you fucking prick." Paulie yelled.

Nick lifted his head as best he could and looked at Tony. "Nick... Nick... Stokes." he said weakly.

Tony put the phone back to his ear and spoke to Andrea. "Do you know Nick Stokes?" Tony asked.

Andrea thought for a second. The name sounded familiar to her. Wait. Yes she did know Nick. He was in town with Jim. "Yes. I know him."

"He says he's in town to see you. That you two have a thing going."

Andrea couldn't believe that Nick would say something like that but then she realized who she was talking to. Tony Soprano. If he had Nick she had to back up his story before something bad happened to him. "I am seeing him, yes." she lied.

"Really? How long?"

Now Andrea panicked. What had Nick told them? She had a fifty fifty chance of getting it right. "It's only been a few months."

Tony sounded disappointed. "Yeah, that's what he said. Thanks." Tony said and hung up. He turned back to look at Nick. "Let him go."

"T. what the fuck?" Paulie said.

"She verified his story. Fucking let him go!" Tony yelled.

* * *

Paulie and Christopher dumped Nick out in front of the Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and sped off. Nick was rolling on the ground in pain and groaning. A hospital attendant saw him and rushed outside to offer him help.

He got Nick into a wheel chair and rushed him into the hospital and up to the third floor. Andrea was on her way down the hall to Nicole's room when she saw the attendant with Nick. "What happened?" Andrea asked.

"I don't know, doctor, I found on the ground in front of the hospital."

"Okay, wheel him down the hall and into a room."

The attendant wheeled Nick and Andrea followed. They brought him to a room and the attendant helped get him onto the bed. Andrea examined Nick and made sure he had plenty of pain medication.

Nick's ordeal with Tony Soprano had left him with three broken ribs, a broken nose, two black eyes and a fractured jaw. "Don't worry, Nick, you're gonna be okay. But I'm gonna talk to Jimmy about you guys leaving town. It's getting too dangerous."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Nick said and winced at the pain in his jaw.

"Come on, my shift is over, I'll take you back to the hotel."

* * *

Andrea pulled her car up in front of the hotel as Jim, Catherine and Peter were walking out the front door. They saw Nick in the front seat. Jim opened the passenger's side door. "What the fuck happened?"

"He had a run in with Tony Soprano." Andrea said getting out of the car.

"I knew it. Listen, you guys got to get out of town." Peter said.

"I was about to say the same thing to you Pete." Jim replied.

"I think you should all leave town. They're not gonna until you're all dead and out of the way." Andrea stated.

"Let's talk about this inside." Catherine said and helped Jim get Nick out of the car. "You never know who's watching right now."

The five of the went back into the hotel and didn't notice Paulie and Christopher watching them from their car that was parked down the street. Paulie took out his cell phone and called Tony. "Yeah, T.? We found them."

**TBC...**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Paulie and Christopher were watching the hotel. He was also still on the phone with Tony. "What do you want us to do, T.?" Paulie asked.

"Just wait there. If they leave, follow them. I have a feeling they're gonna try to get out of town." Tony said.

"We won't let that happen."

"Fucking right you won't." Tony said and hung up.

"What did T. say?" Christopher asked.

"He wants us to watch the hotel. He doesn't want them skipping town." Paulie replied.

* * *

Ralphie walked into Nicole's hospital room. She looked up when she heard the door open. "Hey, where have you been?" she asked.

"With Justin." Ralphie replied.

"How is he?"

"He's still asleep. Andrea said he's gonna make a full recovery but he's still hooked up to that fucking machine." Ralphie eyes teared up.

"He's gonna make it, Ralphie. You know, Carmela, was just here. We were talking and she suggested that maybe you should go see Father Intintola. I think it's a good idea."

"I don't think so."

"At least think about it. It might do you some good."

Ralphie took Nicole's hand. "Alright, I'll think about it."

* * *

Back at the hotel, Jim was laying on the bed with Catherine. Peter was sitting in a chair and Nick and Andrea were on the couch. "What the fuck are we going to do now?" Peter said.

Jim looked at Nick and Andrea. "Are you sure no one followed you here?"

"I'm sure. We'll I'm pretty sure." Andrea said.

"Oh, that's just great. So, they could have seen us helping Nick in here." Peter stated.

"Take it easy, Pete." Jim said.

"Take it easy. Jimmy, you have no idea what these guys are capable of."

"I don't, huh. They almost killed Catherine and Nick. I think I know damn well what they're capable of." Jim yelled as he sat up. But winced at the pain in his abdomen.

"Jim, calm down before you hurt yourself even more." Catherine said and helped him lay down again.

"You know what I think?" Andrea asked.

"What's that?" Catherine asked.

"I think the four of you should get out of town as soon as possible."

"I really like that idea." Nick said. "In fact, it's the best idea I heard in a long time."

"What about you, Andy?" Jim asked.

"I'll be fine. I'm taking care of Nicole and Justin. I don't think they'll hurt me."

"Okay, then it's settled. We're leaving Jersey as soon as we can." Jim stated.

* * *

Ralphie decided to take Nicole's advice and went to see Father Intintola. He walked into Father Intintola's office and shook his hand. "Pleased to meet you." Ralphie said and sat down.

"How are you doing?" Father Intintola asked.

"I feel like such a hipocrite. I haven't been in church in years. We had a mass for Justin, his baptism. For all the good it did."

"Ralph."

"See. What am I doing here?" Ralphie asked. He was almost on the verge of tears again.

"God understands. That's why it's at times like these He's the only one we can turn to."

"God? My son's lying in a hospital, hooked up to a machine. He never did nothing to nobody."

"Our Lord gave his only begotten son to suffer."

"It's nothing compared to this." Ralph stated.

"Were you there when Jesus Christ had his moment of doubt and pain?" Father Intintola asked. Ralphie didn't answer. He just stared across the desk at him. Father Intintola sighed. "It's a great mystery to us, why things happen as they do. But God has a plan for all of us."

"Come on, Father, I've done things in my life that I shouldn't've done." Ralphie said and swallowed hard. "And He's making my son pay for it. That's how He's punishing me."

"God is merciful. He doesn't punish people."

"I would do anything if Justin could even walk again."

"Justin's in God's hands now. And I assure you, God loves him very much." Father Intintola said, stood up from his chair and walked around his desk to Ralphie. "Your job is you. To get yourself right with God. For yourself _and_ for your son. Would you like to make a confession?"

"I think I need a little more time to, uh, to do a good one. But when I'm ready..."

"I understand." Father Intintola interrupted.

"Thank you." Ralph said.

"Let's pray." Ralph leaned forward and folded his hands. "Have mercy on me God in your goodness. In your abundant compassion, blot out my offense, wash away all my guilt, from my sin, cleanse me. For I know my offense, my sin is always before me."

Ralph didn't say a word, he just started to cry again.

* * *

Nicole looked around the hospital room. She was tired of laying around. She got Ralphie to go talk to Father Intintola, hoping that it would help him. Sitting up Nicole winced at the pain, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. She got out of bed and grabbed her clothes and changed. Digging through the drawers in the hopsital room, she made herself a sling and was getting the hell out of the hospital.

Once signing out of the hospital, Nicole thought for a second. She had no ride, so she had to walk. Sitting down taking a rest she started to think. Paulie was going to hit Peter with the shovel, which meant when Peter was firing he was aiming at Paulie. Peter meant to shoot Paulie. With that going through her head, she was getting madder. Peter was trying to shoot Paulie, not her.

Nicole stood up. "That fucking fucker!"

Nicole took off and hailed a cab. She wasn't going to pay for the taxi, she would take care of that herself.

* * *

Paulie and Christopher were still watching the hotel. "I'm fucking getting sick of this. Why don't we just find Peter and cap the fucker?"

Paulie shook his head. The next thing they knew there was a knock on the window and someone jumping in the back. The guys pulled there guns and pointed it at the person that got in. "Hey, hey, guys. It's just fucking me!" Nicole screamed, as she had two guns pointed at her.

"What the fuck are doing here!" Paulie asked putting his gun down on the seat beside him.

"I got fucking tired of that hospital and I checked myself out. Either that or I was going to beat the shit out of the nurse with the papers. She chose the smart route." Nicole said digging around the back of the seat for a gun.

Paulie looked back at Nicole. "There's one under the seat."

Nicole reached down and pulled out the Beretta. "Thanks. Now where are those fuckers?" she asked.

"In the hotel." Christopher answered.

Nicole took a deep breath. "Well, I'm not going to wait all fucking night. Why don't we just fucking go in there. I want Peter's head on a fucking plater!"

"Take it easy, Nic. We can't just go in there." Christopher said.

"Why not?"

"Hey, Chrissy's right. We can't risk being seen." Paulie said.

"Look, it wasn't me he was trying to kill, got that! That's why I want that mother fucking fuck dead!" Nicole yelled.

"What the fuck do you mean it wasn't you he was trying to kill?" Christopher asked shocked. "He fucking shot you!"

"Yeah, I'm fucking aware of that." Nicole replied and looked at Paulie. "Paulie you were about to hit Pete with the shovel and he spun quickly and fired. He didn't have a chance to fucking aim. But it was you he intended to shoot."

"What?" Paulie yelled. "That fucking cocksucker!"

"Now yeah he fucking shot me, but he also was trying to shoot you. This asshole fucking fucked up. Big time! Now maybe he was going to shoot us both anyways. But he should have fucking known what he was getting into. I don't give a fuck what you guys think. I'm fucking going in there. This fucking cunt doesn't deserve to be walking this fucking earth." Nicole said opening the door.

Nicole got out of the car and Paulie and Christopher jumped out after her. "Whoa, wait a fucking minute. We can't afford to fuck this up anymore. We... or rather you... have to calm down and think things through. If you go in there and things get messed up, T. will fucking flip out." Christopher tried explaining to her.

"Nic, listen!" Paulie said grabbing her by her good arm.

"What? He tried to kill you! He fucking shot me!" Nicole said pulling her arm out of Paulie's grip and stood looking at them. It hurt that she almost lost Paulie, along with Ralphie's son. She couldn't take it anymore, she wanted fucking revenge.

Paulie pulled Nicole into a protective hug. "Hey, listen to me, I want him dead too. But let's do this the right way."

Paulie could feel the tension from Nicole leaving. "All right."

"Sure you listen to him." Christopher commented.

"That's because he didn't make me lose my fucking shoe." Nicole said.

"Hey, that was your own fucking doing. Like I fucking said. 'Watch where your going and that wouldn't have fucking happened.'" Christopher said in diffence.

"It wouldn't have fucking happened if you hadn't of let your guard down." Paulie yelled.

"Back the fuck off, Paulie, this is none of your fucking business." Christopher said getting in Paulie's face.

"For fuck sakes, you two." Nicole said sighing and walking towards the SUV.

"What?" Christopher asked.

Nicole turned around. "Why don't you guys just go three rounds? Wait fuck that idea."

"Damn right! I'd wipe the fucking floor with him." Paulie said.

* * *

Jim got up from the bed and walked over to the window. He looked down at the street and saw three people arguing. "Hey, check this out." Jim said.

Catherine, Nick, Peter and Andrea walked over and looked down at the street. "Holy fuck!" Peter said. "They're from Tony's crew."

"Yeah, I recognize them." Nick said.

"Great, we'll never get out of here if they're right outside the hotel." Catherine stated.

"Well, they're not exactly paying attention right now." Jim pointed out.

"Hey, you're right." Andrea said. "Why don't we all slip out and you can stay at my place until we figure out what to do?"

"That's a good idea. At least then we'll be a step ahead of them." Catherine said.

Catherine, Jim, Nick and Andrea started to make their way to the door. Jim stopped. "Are you coming Peter?"

"Something's not right." Peter said still looking out the window.

Nick rolled his eyes. "Your damn right something's not right. Look at the mess we're in."

"No... what I mean... I shot Nicole, she should still be in the hospital. Not out there." Peter answered.

"Okay, Pete, relax." Jim said. "It doesn't matter if she's out there or not. We gotta get out here and fast. Now, you're car is parked in the back, I think that's our best shot."

Peter looked at Jim. "All right. Let's go..."

Andrea and Nick went next door to his room to get him packed, while Jim and Catherine stayed in their room and took care of their bags. Once everyone was finished they met out in the hallway and made their way down to the lobby.

Jim paid the bill and then followed everyone to the parking lot in the back of the hotel. They all piled into Peter's car and made their way down the back roads to avoid Christopher, Paulie and Nicole who were waiting for them in the front of the building.

* * *

Nicole looked at them, "Don't you get it? We can march right up there, kill them and walk away. We have guns that are not traced yet. So why don't we just do it? Make it simple, and everything is taken care of."

Paulie looked at Christopher and then Nicole. "Alright, you're right. Let's fucking do this." Paulie said as he and Nicole started to walk across the street.

Christopher watched them and shook his head. "T.'s not gonna fucking like this." he said as he followed them.

"T. Isn't going to like the fact I checked myself out, way too early, either. But the nurse seen it my way." Nicole said.

"What check yourself out or check the nurse out?" Paulie asked.

"Don't you fucking see this? We're drawing attention to ourselves." Christopher pointed out.

Paulie glared at Christopher as he opened the door to the hotel. "Let's just get this fucking over with."

"Hey, wait! We don't even know what rooms they're in." Christopher said.

They were all in the lobby by this point. Nicole looked at Christopher. "As simple as this Chrissy." Nicole said as she walked up to the front desk.

"May I help you ma'am?" The lady at the front asked.

Nicole smiled. "Yes, can you tell me what room Jim Brass is in?"

"Yes... It looks like he is in room 216." The lady answered. Little did she know that the computer had not been updated that Jim left. And to add on, the lady was new. Which means she shouldn't be giving out that information.

"Thank you." Nicole said and walked up to Christopher, "See you fucking nit-wit it wasn't that hard. They're in room 216."

They all walked over to the elevator and took it up to the second floor. When the elevator arrived they got off and made their way down the hall. Once they reached room 216, Paulie and Nicole stood on each side of the door and Christopher stood in front of it. "Ready?" Christopher asked.

"Go!" Nicole replied.

Christopher was going to kick the door in but decided to knock instead. He banged on the door and listened for any movement. When he heard nothing he backed up and booted the door in. They all burst into the room and came to a dead stop when they saw it was empty.

Christopher threw his hands up in the air. He was really starting to panic now. "Ah, fuck. This is just great. Where the fuck are they?"

"There's no way they got by us." Paulie said.

"Oh yeah? It's not like we were fucking paying attention down there." Christopher said pacing around the room.

Nicole walked over to the window and threw her hand up in the air, the same hand she had her gun in. It wasn't like she could throw both hands up in the air. "Fuck! Fucking fuck! We have to catch these guys! I thought you guys said they were here! Fuck, Tony is going to fucking flip over this. God damn fucking cunts, they got away! For fuck sakes, how the hell are we going to fucking tell Tony about this? Fuck, fuck, fuck!" She said as she started to pace, by the end of the rant she had punched the wall with the gun in her hand and started to flip more, now that she was in more pain.

Paulie walked over to her and stopped her pacing. "Sweetie, relax, we'll find them before T. ever finds out and clean this fucking mess up ourselves." he said trying to ease her mind somewhat.

But it wasn't working. Nicole broke free from Paulie's grip and started pacing again. "No, Paulie, if T. can kill Tony B. then we're all fucked."

Christopher was starting to panic just like Nicole. "She's right, I mean, if he can do that; than we _are_ all fucked!"

Paulie started to feel like a referee. "Alright, just shut the fuck up! We're gonna find these motherfuckers and cap them all. No hesitating this time."

Nicole was worried. "We better find them. I mean, I don't wanna die. At the hands of my own cousin."

Paulie shook his head. "None of us are gonna fucking die, okay? Not if I have anything to say about it."

* * *

Peter pulled the car into Andrea's garage and shut the engine off. Everyone got out and made their way inside. "I can't believe we pulled that off." Nick said as he sat down in the recliner.

"Me either." Catherine sighed as she sat down on the couch. "Now all we have to do is find a way to put these guys in jail."

Jim looked at Catherine as he sat down beside her. "Right. But how are we gonna prove that they were involved in killing Romano and Roselli?"

"I could help you there but I'd be incriminating myself." Peter stated.

"We can't have you do that." Nick stated. "That's signing your own death certificate."

Peter scoffed. "I think it's a little late for that, Nick."

Catherine shook her head. "Okay we have to sit down and figure out a way to get this done. I mean... who is going to believe us. We have no evidence to back up our story. No DNA, no prints, nothing really. Nothing has been processed. Nor collected."

"Good point, Cath. But we're also way out of our jurisdiction and we're not exactly here officially. I mean Burdick will be shitting bricks if he catches wind about what we're doing here." Jim said.

"All we're doing here is looking out for your brother." Nick pointed out. "And we just happened to get caught up in all this."

"He's right. You came down here, on your own time. It's not like you planned on having the mafia after us." Andrea added.

"We knew what we were getting ourselves into." Catherine said. "Jim and I figured out that the mob was involved before we came here."

"And you didn't tell me? You mean I could be at home watching football and not be sitting here fearing for my life, thinking those three are going to be coming through that door any minute?" Nick asked, standing up.

"We did tell you, Nicky. When we stopped at that diner in Colorado." Jim pointed out.

"You obviously weren't paying attention." Catherine added.

"That and I didn't think you were serious. And it's not like I could of turned back." Nick said defensively.

"Okay, it doesn't matter at this point. We're here and we have to figure out a way to get out of this in one piece." Jim said.

Andrea shook her head. "It's not a good idea to stay here. I mean Tony Soprano can find out we're here. He already knows I'm involved in all this."

"We didn't mean for you to get caught up in all of this." Catherine said.

Before Andrea could reply Peter jumped in. "No, we didn't but where the hell are we going to go now?"

"Okay, we'll all stay here for the night and figure out what to do in the morning." Andrea replied.

"Sounds like a great plan. I could definitely use some sleep." Jim said.

Andrea showed them all to their rooms and everyone turned in for the night.

* * *

Nicole started to pace worse, she was really starting to think that things were going to come to a grim end. Christopher was trying to calm down by splashing water on his face. And Paulie was trying to think of how to explain it to Tony. "I can't believe this. I just can't believe this. I am now living on borrowed time. I am a walking, talking, fucking dead woman." Nicole said still pacing by the window.

Christopher walked out of the bathroom. "You know what I fucking realized? We have no idea where to start looking for these pricks." he pointed out.

Paulie sighed and sat down on the bed. "We're gonna have to take our chances with T."

Nicole stopped pacing and looked at Paulie. "Are you fucking insane? If we go to Tony he'll fucking cap us on the spot!"

"We have no choice." Christopher pointed out. "Those assholes could be anywhere."

"No. No! You can't make me go and see Tony. He will kill us as soon as one of us open our big mouth and tell him. And to top it fucking off. He still thinks I am at the fucking hospital!"

Paulie stood up. "What the fuck are we supposed to do? It's not like we can call information and find out where the fuck they are."

"I don't fucking care! I'm not in the mood to die tonight!" Nicole said still frantic at the idea of reporting to Tony.

"Come on, Nic, we gotta do this. So let's just get it over with." Christopher said.

Nicole shook her head. "If we go to T. We're going to die. I mean there has to be some place we can start looking for them." Nicole said taking a deep breath. "I just don't feel much like being put six feet under or being fed to a meat grinder..." She said as she started to pace. "I think I was happier at the hospital bored."

"Maybe you should have stayed at the fucking hospital. Than none of this would have fucking happened." Christopher yelled as he went and slammed the hotel door shut.

Paulie grabbed Nicole and then Christopher. "I don't wanna here another fucking word. We're going back to the Bing and we're talking to T. Now, we can either do that or sit here and keep crying and whining like little bitches."

Nicole glared at Paulie. She hated to say it but she did. "Okay, I'll go. But I'm not a fucking little bitch."

* * *

Jim and Catherine were laying in bed wide awake. Sleep was not coming easy for either of them. Catherine turned over onto her side and looked at Jim. "How are we going to get out of this mess?" she asked.

Jim's brow furrowed. He placed his hand on Catherine's face and stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I don't know but I'm not letting anything happen to you."

Catherine leaned in and kissed Jim. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. Catherine rested her head against Jim's shoulder and played with his chest hair. "I love you, Jim." she suddenly said.

Jim was taken aback by Catherine's sudden confession. He looked down at her and moved a piece of hair out of her eyes with his finger. "I love you, too, Cath. I always have." Jim confessed himself.

Catherine smiled and snuggled closer to Jim. For the first time, since they arrived in Newark, she felt safe.

**TBC...**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Paulie pulled the SUV into the parking lot at Bada Bing. Even when he shut the engine off no one moved to get out of the truck. Paulie looked at Nicole and Christopher. "Come on, let's get this fucking over with."

Nicole and Christopher hesitantly got out of the truck and the three of them made their way into the Bing. Tony and Sil were in the back room when they walked into the club. Tony looked up when he heard the door open. "What the fuck are you doing here?" he asked when he saw Nicole.

"We got a problem, T." Paulie said.

Tony stood up from behind his desk and walked around to the group. "In a minute Paulie." he said and turned his attention to Nicole. "Why the fuck aren't you in the hospital?"

Nicole was trembling as she looked at Tony. "I couldn't stay in that place any longer. I wanted to deal with that fucker Peter myself." she said.

"She met up with us outside the hotel." Christopher added.

Tony turned his attention back to Paulie. "And you said we have a fucking problem?" Paulie didn't reply straight away. "What the fuck happened!" Tony yelled.

"They got past us somehow, Tony. We don't know where they are." Paulie finally replied.

"Fuck! Do I have to everything my fucking self?" Tony yelled as he was walking back to his desk. He opened the top drawer and pulled out a .38.

"Hey, T., take it easy man. We'll find them." Christopher pleaded.

Tony walked back toward them with the gun pointed. "I fucking trusted you to take care of this fucking mess and you fucked it up. Again! That's the last time that's gonna fucking happen! Fucking second graders could have done a better fucking job!" Tony ranted as Nicole, Paulie and Christopher all dropped to their knees.

Tony walked over and pointed the gun at Nicole, who was trembling. "Please, Tony, don't do this. We'll make it right, I swear."

Tony cocked the gun. "It's too fucking late for that now." he said as he moved the gun to the side and fired.

Nicole screamed as the bullet whizzed by her head and slammed into the floor behind her. "Holy fucking shit! Tony, please, I'll fix this mess."

Tony was shocked that the gun was loaded. He only intended on a mock execution to scare the shit out of them. Tony turned back to Sil. "What the fuck?"

"I don't know how it got loaded, Tony." Sil replied.

Tony turned back to Paulie, Nicole and Christopher. "Get the fuck up off the floor."

The three of them stood up, still shaking. "Give us another chance, T. We won't let you down again." Paulie said.

"No, you had your fucking chance. Now it's my turn."

* * *

Nicole walked outside, in the back of Bada Bing. She felt tears sliding down her cheeks. It was not like her to cry, she hardly ever cried as a child and never as an adult. She couldn't believe that the gun was loaded and that Tony seriously was going to kill her. "What the fuck happened?" She heard Ralphie's voice. "Why the fuck aren't you at the goddamn hospital!"

Nicole looked at Ralphie. "Leave me alone Ralph!"

Ralphie walked closer to her and grabbed her arm. "I came back from Father Intintola's to see you and Justin, only you weren't fucking there. Why the fuck did you leave!"

Nicole pulled from Ralphie's grip and shoved him away. "Get the fuck off me, Ralph!"

Ralphie fell back into the wall and banged his head. "You fucking bitch!" he spat as Paulie and Tony were coming out the backdoor.

"Get the fuck away from her, Ralphie!" Paulie yelled.

Ralphie looked at him. "Fuck off! This is none of your goddamn business!"

Nicole looked at Paulie and then back to Ralphie. "Ralphie, get the fuck out of here."

Ralphie looked at Nicole. "I'm not leaving here without you."

"I'm not going anywhere with you. It's over, Ralphie."

Ralphie grabbed Nicole's arm. "It's not over until I say it's over."

As Nicole jerked her arm out of Ralphie's grasp, she felt her stitches tear. She winced and Tony and Paulie noticed the blood seeping out through her shirt.

Tony grabbed Ralphie and slammed him against the wall. "Get the fuck out of here, Ralphie, before I do something that you'll regret."

Ralphie pulled himself out of Tony's grip, spit on the ground and walked away. Paulie watched Ralphie leave and then turned back to Nicole. "Come on, let's get those stitches taken care of."

* * *

The Registered Nurse finished up the last of the stitches that were torn. "You know, you really should have stayed here at the hospital."

Nicole sighed. "Sorry that's not really an option. I had people I needed to help."

The nurse shook her head. "Well I just don't want you to tear these stitches again. You have to be more careful, next time you go out to play football, sit at the side lines."

"Hey, it's not like we won." Nicole commented.

The nurse started to laugh as she placed the bandage on and handed Nicole the sling. "I still can't wrap my brain across the fact you left here to play football."

"Well I guess next time I will sit on the side lines." Nicole said as the nurse started to leave. Nicole was just getting ready to put on her shirt when Paulie walked in.

Nicole looked at Paulie, "I thought you were going back to the Bing after you dropped me off here?"

Paulie averted his gaze as Nicole finished putting her shirt back on. "Yeah, well, I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"I've been better, Paulie. I never thought Ralphie would do anything like that. Especially to me."

Paulie moved closer to her. "Listen, Ralph is nothing but a fucking prick. Truth is, you're better off without him."

Nicole smiled. "Yeah, and truth be told; he was starting to weird me out..."

* * *

Sil pulled up in front of Peter's house and parked. He got out and walked up to the front door. He looked through the window and noticed all the lights were off inside and the house was locked up tight. He walked around to the back of the house and noticed the same thing.

Sil knew he wasn't going to get inside that house, not without drawing attention to himself. He walked back to his car and got behind the wheel. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Tony's number.

* * *

Tony and Christopher were in the back room of Bada Bing shooting pool. Tony stopped when he heard his cell phone ring. "Yeah?"

"He's not home, T." Sil said on the other end. "And it looks like he hasn't been here in a while."

"Alright. I'll see you get back to the Bing." Tony said and hung up.

"What's up?" Christopher asked as he took his shot and sunk a ball into the side pocket.

"Sil just went by Pete's house. No sign of him anywhere."

"Fuck! Where the fuck could they be?" Christopher asked as he missed his next shot.

Tony picked up his pool cue and took a shot. "They could be fucking anywhere by now. How the fuck did they get by you?"

"Nic showed up and we kinda got distracted."

"Distracted? You were supposed to keep your fucking eyes glued to that hotel!" Tony yelled.

"I know, T. You know now that I think of it, I never saw any cars at all on the street."

"But you can't be fucking sure?" Tony asked as he sunk another ball.

"Well, no, but I'm pretty fucking sure that no cars went up or down that street. And if that's the case, how the fuck did they get out of there?"

* * *

By the time Nicole and Paulie were arriving at Bada Bing, Sil was just getting back and Tony and Christopher had already left. "What's up, Sil?" Nicole asked as the three of them went to the back.

"T. sent me to see if Peter was stupid enough to be home." Sil answered as he sat down.

"He knows enough not to be there, Sil." Paulie said as he sat down himself.

Nicole sat down on the couch. "Okay, well if they are not at asshole's house. Then they must be somewhere else."

Paulie thought for a second. "You know, that guy me and T. took from the hospital was at the Barrens, and claimed to be dating that fucking twat doctor."

"Than if he was at the Barrens than that means that he is involved. Now that doc lives here..." Nicole started.

Sil looked at them. "That's fucking out there."

"But if it's true than they could fucking be hiding at her house." Nicole commented.

As Nicole said that Tony and Christopher walked back into the Bing. "Okay, so where do we stand on this mess?" Tony asked.

"They could be hiding at the fucking doc's place." Paulie said.

"Hey, I never fucking though of that." Christopher said as he sat down.

"Don't get fucking comfortable. We're gonna find out where she lives and take them all down once and for all." Tony stated.

Sil looked at Tony. "How do we get her address?"

Christopher looked at Nicole. "You got the hotel room no problem."

Nicole looked back at him. "I don't see you getting off your lazy ass to get the fucking address."

"Holy fuck!" Paulie yelled and walked over to a shelf. He pulled the phone book off of it and looked up Andrea Brass. "She lives at 1627 Bergen St. Now was that so fucking hard?" Paulie asked and threw the phone book back on the shelf.

* * *

An SUV rolled slowly down a dark, deserted street. Christopher was behind the wheel and Nicole and Paulie were in the back seat. They were looking for 1627. Christopher drove a little more down the street until he finally found the house. He pulled over next to the curb and parked.

They all got out and pulled ski masks down over their faces. They walked up to the house and looked into the windows. The house was dark and there was no movement inside. Nicole walked around to the back of the house, while Paulie walked around to the side of the house. Christopher stayed in the front.

Next thing, they were all lighting up molotov cocktails. One by one they each threw them through the windows of the house. Nicole and Paulie came back to the front yard. They stood there as they watched the flames get higher and the remaining windows burst out from the emmense heat.

When they were satisfied that the occupants inside were not getting out alive, they jumped back into the SUV and sped off down the street.

* * *

Catherine started to cough which woke her up, she could see smoke filling the room and she sat straight up, "Jimmy!" she yelled as she started to shake him awake, "Jimmy!"

Jim shot straight up, "What? What is it babe?" he asked as he started to cough.

"The house is on fire! We have to get everyone out." Catherine said grabbing her house coat and touched the door handle. "It's warm, we can't go out this way. What do we do?" She asked than coughed.

Jim walked up to her and grabbed her hand, "Out the window."

**TBC...**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Jim walked over to the window and opened it as he heard yelling coming from outside the door. It was Peter. "Hey, the fucking house is on fire! Everyone out!" he said as he booted Jim and Catherine's door in.

Jim spun around as Peter, Andrea and Nick came running into the room. "Shut the door!" Jim yelled.

Nick slammed the door shut as Peter started to flip out even more. "I knew they'd find us! I fucking knew it! We're not gonna be safe anywhere!"

Jim walked over to Peter and dragged him to the window. "We don't have time for this Pete! Get your ass out on the roof!"

Everyone climbed out onto the roof. Once they were out of the house they climbed down onto the tank, that was on the side of the house and made it safely to the ground.

"I knew it! I knew it! They found us. They fucking found us! We're dead, we're so fucking dead." Peter yelled pacing around the group, in front of the burning house. "They're after us, to kill us. More now than before. I mean, all the time I've been around, they never burnt a house. Never... So they want our blood. Tony is pissed, along with Paulie, Sil and Nicole. I don't know about Chrissy or Ralphie. We are so dead meat. I don't want Uncle Junior after us, let alone Bobby Bacala..."

"Hey, Pessimistic Pete? Calm the fuck down!" Andrea yelled at him, using a name that they've called him since childhood.

Jim started to laugh. "I haven't heard that in years."

"Don't fucking start calling me that. You don't know these people. And the worst part of it is, is that the one I shot is the only female on the team. And that's for a reason. She is one of their best! Get her together with Paulie, and Chrissy. We're fucked! You hear me! We're fucked!" Peter yelled.

"What the hell has gotten into him? I mean, if we just leave now, they are going to think we're dead." Nick pointed out.

Jim thought for a second. "Nick has a point. If we leave now, they're most likely to think we burnt in the house fire. And than when all of us get back to Vegas, we can go about our lives. Andy, Pess... Pete, your both coming. We're not leaving you here."

"Well, considering I don't have a house anymore, I don't have much choice do I?" Andrea said as they heard sirens.

"Let's get the hell out of here before they get here." Catherine said.

"That would be a good idea but I can't exactly walk down the streets of Newark in just my boxers." Jim pointed out.

Just then Andrea got an idea. "Hey, I have some of Dad's old clothes out there in the shed. They'll probably fit you."

Jim walked behind the house and went into the shed. He came back ten minutes later wearing a pair of old trousers and a flannel shirt. "Alright, let's get the hell out of here." he said.

Nick started to laugh as they walked down the back alley. "I don't know man. I mean you look like you just walked out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie." he said regarding Jim's clothing.

* * *

They were still walking and trying to figure out what they were going to do. Just then Nick spoke up. "Hey, wait, Catherine's truck is still in the parking garage of that hotel. If we can get back there then that will at least give us some wheels."

"Are you sure that is such a good idea. I mean if the crew thinks that we're not dead than they might be watching the hotel still." Peter pointed out.

"Pete obviously they found out we were staying at my house. Otherwise, why torch it?" Andrea asked.

"Unless it was to just send a message. Maybe going back to the hotel is not such a good idea." Catherine said.

"No, no, no. These guys want us dead. Don't you get it?" Peter asked, worried.

Jim looked at Peter. "Okay, then why would they be watching the hotel if they think we burned to death in the house?" he asked.

"Cause I'm sure one of them thought that if we got out of the house that we would go to the hotel to get Catherine's truck. These guys are not stupid!" Peter said freaking out. "I know these guys. I know some of how they think. If Tony or any one of those guys wants us dead, which they do; than we are as good as dead."

"Why the fuck did you ever get caught up with these guys in the first place?" Andrea asked.

Peter shook his head. "I don't fucking know. But believe me, I'm regretting that now."

"Yeah, I bet you are." Nick said sarcastically.

"Look, I'm sorry okay! But now I can't exactly go back and fix it. All I can tell you is that we are fucked, and fucked big time!" Peter said, on the verge of tears.

Jim placed a hand on Peter's shoulder. "Okay, we have to get out of the city. I'd say our best bet is to take the train into New York..."

"Uh, Jim?" Catherine interrupted. "How are we supposed to do that if all our money and credit cards burned up in the house?"

"Shit! We are so fucking screwed!" Peter said.

Nick thought for a second. "Wait, we could always call Griss and see what he can do."

Catherine looked at Nick. "Do you have A.D.D. Nicky? We have no money."

"We could use a pay phone and call collect." Andrea pointed out.

Nick rolled his eyes. "That's what I meant."

They walked another two and a half blocks until they found a pay phone. Jim dialed the operator to make the collect call. When he heard Grissom pick up his cell phone he started to plead. "Come Gil, just accept the charges. Come on."

"Grissom." Gil answered.

"Gil, thanks for accepting the charges." Jim answered.

"Jim? What's going on? Why did you call collect?" Gil asked worry apparent in his voice.

Jim thought for a second. "Look uh... we ran in to some kinda of trouble."

"What kind of trouble?"

"I'd rather not get into that right now. But I need you to go to my house and grab the money from my safe and wire it to me here in New..." Jim started to say but stopped himself as the idea hit him. "Never mind Gil, that won't work. I'll need I.D. to get it out of the bank. Which I don't exactly have at the moment."

"Why don't you have your I.D. Jim? Do you need me to come up there?"

"You know, Gil, I think you should. It's the only way we're gonna get out of here." Jim said.

Gil sighed. "Just what have you gotten into?"

"Some very bad shit, Gil. I still need you to get the cash from my safe and then fly out here. We're gonna need it to get home."

At that Gil stood up from his chair. "Okay, I'll go get the money and fly out there. I'll call... you don't have your cell phone either I take it."

"If we did, would we be calling collect?" Jim asked. "Okay, listen, we'll figure out where to meet you and call you back."

Catherine thought. "The hotel. I mean we can get into the parkade through the back. Or have Gil meet us near by."

Jim nodded and told Grissom the information. Grissom was gonna catch a flight and meet them at the back of the hotel. After Jim hung up, they all carefully made their way back to the hotel. They decided they would have to hide in the back until Grissom arrived.

* * *

As they were making their way to the hotel Peter stopped them. "Hey, I just got an idea."

"That's a first." Andrea stated.

Peter glared at his sister and then continued. "As I was saying, we could go to my place while were waiting. And stock up on weapons in the process."

"That's good idea." Nick agreed.

"It is. It gives us a safe house for awhile. And they won't think we're there." Catherine said.

"Not if they still think we're dead." Jim added and sighed. "Okay, let's go."

Peter lead the way and an hour later they made it to his house. Then he realized that he didn't have his keys. "This is just great." Peter said. "What else can possibly go wrong?"

"What's going on?" Andrea asked.

"I don't have my keys."

"Great. How the hell are we gonna get inside? I mean, we're like sitting ducks out here." Nick said.

"Hold on. Jimmy, give me a hand." Peter said and walked around to the back of the house. "The lock on this basement window is broke. Help me inside, then I'll go through and let you guys in."

Jim held the window open for Peter as he slipped inside and dropped onto the floor. Then Jim shut the window and went back to the front of the house as Peter was opening the front door.

Everyone went inside. Jim sat down on the couch, along with Catherine, who sat beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. Nick and Andrea sat down on the loveseat and Peter made himself comfortable in his recliner.

"At least now we can relax for awhile." Catherine said.

"How long do you think the flight will be?" Nick asked.

"Long enough to really get Pessimistic Pete worried more." Andrea stated.

"Will you stop calling me that!" Peter yelled.

"I figure we got at least another six or seven hours, Nicky." Jim said.

Andrea got up from the couch and made her way into the kitchen. "Hey, Pete, you got any food?"

"Check the fridge or the cupboards. That's usually where I keep it." Peter replied sarcastically.

Catherine shook her head. "You know, I am getting one hell of a headache over this."

"I know how you feel." Jim said sympathetically and wrapped his arm around Catherine's shoulder.

Everyone relaxed and Jim and Catherine passed the time by taking a nap on the couch. When they woke up it was time to leave to meet Grissom at the hotel.

Peter gave everyone a gun from his collection and they all left house hoping that this would all soon be over.

* * *

Tony looked at Paulie, Christopher and Nicole when they walked in after getting cleaned up. "Done?"

Nicole nodded. "Yep, five crispy fucking cocksuckers."

Sil looked at them, "Sure? You didn't see them get out?"

Paulie looked at Sil. "Yes, they're dead."

"Maybe you guys should check the hotel first. These guys seem down right fucking sneaky." Sil stated.

"Look, we got them. What's the fucking point in checking the hotel?" Christopher asked.

Tony looked at Sil. Frowning in thought he finally spoke. "Just to cover our fucking asses after enough fuck ups. Paulie, Nicole, go watch that fucking hotel."

"On it, Tony." Nicole said as she started on her way with Paulie to the hotel.

* * *

Grissom arrived at the airport and caught a cab immediately. Once he was in the back he gave the driver the name of the hotel and they were on their way.

A half hour later Grissom arrived at the hotel and paid the cab driver. He got out of the cab and looked around. He noticed a walkway leading to the back of the hotel and made his way down it.

Once he reached the back of the hotel he heard a voice. "Psst. Gil, we're over here." Jim said waving to him.

Grissom walked over and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the condition of his friends. "Okay, what exactly happened to you guys?"

"Lot's of shit. But listen we need to get the hell out of here. We'll meet you a block from here," Jim said pointing. "The truck is down in the parkade. Now granted the keys are in it, cause we needed to get up to the hotel room A.S.A.P. So go down there and meet us."

Grissom sighed. "All right, I'll meet you in ten." he said and walked off toward the parkade.

The rest of the group was about to walk off to meet Grissom down the block when Catherine stopped them. "Wait, I think we should make sure Gil makes it out okay."

"All right." Jim said as they started to sneak around the building.

* * *

Nicole sat in the passenger seat and sighed. "You know, if I see these pricks, I am offically going to fucking believe that they are immortal."

"They're dead, okay?" Paulie said as he turned on the radio.

She shook her head. "Are you sure? After all we've been through? After all we tried?"

"You fucking saw that house. Do you honestly think they made it out?"

She looked at him. "I just don't know." She said as she placed her hand over the stitches. "Sil believes they could be alive, and Tony is suspisous about it now."

Paulie looked at her. "They can think what they want. You and me both saw that damn house. They're not alive."

"Maybe your right, but maybe Sil's right. I just don't want to fucking sit here all night." She said more paying attention to the soreness and tenderness of her bullet wound.

Paulie scowled. "Are you sure your okay?"

Nicole pulled her attention away and looked at Paulie. "Yeah, sure... it's just still sore after what Ralphie did..."

"He's lucky he's a made guy. Cause if he wasn't I'd cut off his balls and shove them down his throat."

Before Nicole could reply she noticed movment in the parkade. "Paulie pull up closer to the entrance, I seen movment."

Paulie pulled up closer and noticed movement as well. "Hey isn't that, that twats truck? From the Barrens?"

"No shit, and who's that getting in?" Nicole asked.

"Let's find out." Paulie said as he pulled up to the entrance.

* * *

Grissom got behind the wheel and started the truck. He couldn't believe the mess that Jim, Catherine and Nick had gotten into but they were his friends and he was going to help them anyway he could.

As he started to pull out of the parkade he noticed that a truck had blocked the entrance. "What the hell?" he asked himself.

As this was happening, Jim, Catherine, Nick, Andrea and Peter were watching from the side of the building. "Holy shit! It's Paulie and Nicole." Peter said.

"What the hell are we going to do? Why the hell are they here?" Nick asked.

* * *

Nicole and Paulie got out of the truck. Nicole walked up to the driver's window and opened the door with her right hand and pulled Gil out with her left. "Okay, you got some explaining to do." Nicole said as she pushed Gil up against the back doors.

Grissom put his hands up and looked at Paulie and Nicole. "Who are you?"

"What the fuck are you doing with this truck?" Paulie asked as he pulled his gun out and pointed it at Grissom.

"Oh shit, we gotta do something." Jim said as they watched what ws happening.

"It's my truck." Gil answered.

Nicole rolled her eyes. "Bullshit. Now answer his fucking question honestly."

"I'm telling you, this is my truck." Grissom said again.

"You lying prick." Paulie said and put the gun in Grissom's face. "I saw this truck at the Barrens. This is that fucking twat's truck."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I parked my truck here last week. I had business in the area. Maybe someone used without me knowing."

"Come on, we gotta help him." Nick said.

"I'm fucking tired of your bullshit." Nicole said and hit him in the jaw with the butt end of her gun. "Now fucking tell the truth or your really going to be sorry. Now where the fuck are they? Are they fucking still alive?" She asked placing her foot on Gil's chest.

"That's it." Jim said and started toward them. "Let him go! He's has nothing to do with this!"

Paulie and Nicole spun around at the sound of Jim's voice. "What the fuck?"

"Aw for fucking crying out loud!" Nicole said moving her foot to Gil's throat. "Die for fucking sakes!"

Paulie pointed his gun at Jim as the rest of the group came around the corner. Before he had a chance to fire, Nick shot Paulie in the chest. As Paulie went down, Nicole removed her foot from Grissom's throat and spun around. Before she had chance to fire, Grissom grabbed her from behind. She got a hold of Grissom's arm and spun him around in front of her, firing in the process. The bullet went through Grissom's shoulder and he fell to the ground.

Nicole without even thinking of the rest ran to Paulie. "Hey, hey." Nicole said pulling out her cell phone. "Hang in there, hon." Worried out of her mind she called 911.

As Nicole was attending to Paulie, Jim and the rest of the group ran to Grissom. "Hold on, Gil, you're gonna be okay." Jim said as Catherine knelt down beside them. "Let's get him in the truck."

Catherine and Nick helped Jim put Grissom in the back of the truck. Andrea climbed into the back and put pressure on Grissom's wound. "Is there a first aid kit in here?" Andrea asked.

"My field kit is in the back there. It should have everything you need." Catherine said as Jim climbed behind the wheel.

Peter climbed into the passengers seat and looked out the windshield. "Uh, Jimmy, we're still blocked."

"I'll take care of that." Jim said as he started the engine.

Meanwhile outside, Nicole was still trying to get Paulie to stay conscious. "Come on, baby, stay with me. The ambulance is on the way. Just hang on until they here."

Jim put the truck into drive and started to ram the SUV that was blocking them. Once he managed to get it out of the way, he took off down the street and passed the ambulance as he went.

The ambulance pulled up in front of the hotel and the paramedics quickly attended to Paulie. They got him stabalized and into the back of the bus. Nicole hopped into the ack with him and held his hand the entire way.

Back in Catherine's truck Andrea was still working on Grissom. I got the bleeding slowed down but we need to get him to the hospital. I can treat him better there."

Catherine placed her hand on Jim's shoulder. "We have to risk it. Gil, risked his life to help us, now we have to help him."

Jim nodded and made his way to the Beth Israel Medical Center.

**TBC...**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Nicole held Paulie's hand as the paramedics were still working on him. Nicole tried to keep calm while the ambulance sped to the hosptial. She couldn't believe the events that had taken place in such a sort period of time.

Once at the hospital Nicole had no choice but to wait in the the waiting room.

"Tony, we have a problem, got a little physical." Nicole said when Tony answered the phone.

"Fuck, what is it now?"

She paced over to the window. "Sil was right those cocksuckers are still alive. Now there is one more of them, Paulie and me blocked of the van. We tried to get answered when the rest of them showed up. One shot Paulie."

"What? Your fucking kiding me!"

"No, Ton. He's in emergency now."

* * *

Catherine looked at Jim, "We have to get him there now. Than we have to do something about those two. They can't get away with this."

Jim quickly looked at her, "First thing first. Get Gil, to the hosptial. Than we can talk about dealing with The Soprano's Crew."

Nick looked at them. "Are you kidding me? I don't want anything more to do with them."

Peter looked at Jim. "I agree with Nick. We're in way over our heads here. We gotta get out of town and fast."

Jim pulled the truck up to the front of the hospital as Peter and Nick helped Andrea get Grissom inside. She caught an orderly and told him get a stretcher. As he was making his way back with one, Jim and Catherine ran into the hospital.

They placed Grissom on the stretcher and wheeled him to the elevator. After getting him upstairs, Andrea took him straight to the OR, while Jim, Catherine, Nick and Peter made their way to the waiting room.

* * *

Nicole started to pace after she got off the phone with Tony. She wasn't sure what to do. She was worried sick over Paulie, in OR. Nicole stopped pacing when Carmela, Tony, Sil and Christopher came into the waiting room. "How is he?" Carmela asked after she gave Nicole a hug.

"No word. I'm worried." Nicole replied. "This whole thing is a fucking mess, Ton. These people just..."

"Just what?" Sil asked as he sat down.

"They just won't fucking die." Nicole finished.

"How did those fuckers get out of that house?" Christopher asked confused. "I mean we fire bombed the place."

Nicole was frustrated. "The must of jumped out of the second story window. But than again, they seemed almost unscathed by the fire. This is just fucking pissing me off. And now Paulie is in that fucking OR cause of the fucking cocksuckers!"

Carmela still had her arm around Nicole and she looked at Tony. "What the hell is going on, who are these people?" she asked.

"Don't worry about them, Carm. Worry about Paulie right now." Tony said.

Nicole shook her head almost on the verg of tears. "Ton, we have to do something about these people. Not only did I get hurt, they hurt Paulie."

Christopher looked at Tony. "T. she's right."

Tony stood there thinking for a minute. Then pulled Christopher and Sil aside. "Okay, listen, Carm and me will stay here and find how how Paulie is. You, Christopher and Nicole find these pricks and get rid of them once and for all."

"Got it, Tony, they're not getting away this time." Sil said.

* * *

Before Nicole, Sil and Christopher left the waiting room, Nicole saw Ralphie coming out of Justin's room. He headed toward the waiting room when he saw her. "Can I talk to you?" he asked.

"Not now, Ralphie."

"Listen, I'm sorry about what happened at the Bing, but you really came at me with that out of the blue you know."

"Yeah, well, I've been thinking about it for a while now, Ralphie. But you're right, should have told you differently than I did."

"There's no way we can work things out?" Ralphie asked.

"No. It's really over." Nicole replied.

"Hey, Nic, come on we gotta go." Christopher called over to her.

"We can at least remain friends, right?" Ralphie asked before she left.

"Sure. But listen, I gotta go." Nicole said and walked back over to Sil and Christopher.

* * *

Jim, Catherine, Nick and Peter were watching the Sorpano crew in the waiting room. "Great. What the fuck are we gonna do now? We're screwed if they see us." Peter said.

"We gotta get out of here before that happens." Nick stated.

"I'd say that's a good plan but we can't leave without Gil and Andrea." Catherine replied.

"Catherine's right, guys. We just gotta lay low until we can _all_ get out of here." Jim added.

* * *

Nicole, Christopher and Sil started to walk out of the waiting room. Nicole stopped. "Wait a minute, this is the same hosptial Andrea works at, and I shot one of their guys. Andrea that doctor was treating the one I shot. Now she is going to need medical shit, so she is going to have to come here."

"I say we split up and look for them." Christopher suggested.

"No, splitting up is a bad idea." Nicole replied.

"Why? At least that way we can cover more ground."

"No, Nic's right. We should stay together." Sil said.

Christopher shook his head. "This is fucking bullshit. They should have died in that fucking fire."

"Chrissy. Shut the fuck up." Nicole almost yelled.

* * *

They all turned around and went back the way they came. "Hey, there's an exam room down here. It's where Andrea checked me out after those psychos dumped me outside the hospital." Nick said.

They found the door and went into the room. "Hopefully we can stay here until Andrea's finished with Gil." Catherine said.

"Yeah, as long as they don't decide to come looking for us." Peter added.

"You seen those two talking to Tony. Than that woman, and those two left." Jim pointed out, as his New Jersey accent started to come out a little heavy.

Catherine looked at him. "Okay, your accent is coming out again."

Jim smiled. "That tend to happen from time to time. I don't even notice it anymore."

Peter was pacing back and forth. "What the hell is taking so long? It was a damn through and through."

"Take it easy, Pete. Things like this can't be rushed." Jim said.

* * *

Ralphie noticed Tony and Carmela sitting in the waiting room and walked over to them. "What's going on here, Anthony?" Ralphie asked.

"Paulie's been shot." Tony replied.

"No shit?"

Tony looked at Ralphie as he sat down. "So, things are done between you and Nicole I take it?"

"Yeah. Which I guess makes you pretty happy."

"Hey, Ralph, just so you understand, I had nothing to do with this. You brought this on yourself."

Ralphie leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "You're probably right. I guess it was inevitable."

Carmela looked at Ralphie. "How is Justin doing?"

"He's doing a lot better."

"Hey, he's gonna be okay. This is a good hospital, they'll take care of him." Tony reassured him.

* * *

Nicole, Christopher and Sil were making their way through the hospital. "Paulie better make it through this because if he doesn't..."

Christopher looked at Nicole. "You never worried this much about Ralphie."

"Yeah, well Ralphie's a fucking freak."

Sil laughed. "Don't tell me, you just fucking noticed."

"No I didn't but it doesn't matter anymore. I'm no longer seeing him." Nicole said as she stopped. "Let's go this way." She added making her way towards the exam rooms.

* * *

Jim stopped himself and turned toward the door. "Shhh! I just heard voices." he said and walked over to the door. He opened it a crack and peered outside. "It's them. They're checking all the rooms."

"Fuck!" Peter swore. "That's it we're dead."

"Don't count us out yet, Pete." Catherine said and pointed to the ceiling at the vent. "We can out through there."

"Now we're talking." Nick said and pulled a chair over. He stood up on it and popped out the cover to the vent. "I'll go first and then help you guys up."

Nick hoisted himself up as Jim helped Catherine onto the chair. "Ready, Nicky?"

"Okay, come on." he said and pulled Catherine into the vent.

Peter and Jim followed soon after. Just as Jim was pulling his feet into the vent, the door opened and Nicole, Sil and Christopher made their way inside.

* * *

Nicole looked around, "I thought I heard voices from in here."

Christopher looked around. "The vent's open."

Sil looked at Christopher. "Where?"

"Up there." She said pointing up.

Christopher grabbed a chair, "Okay, let's go after them."

"You go first." Sil replied.

Christopher got up on the chair and Sil help him get up into the heating ducts. Next Sil was help up into the ducts by Christopher. Nicole stoop up on the chair and each grabbed her hands and help her up into the ducts. She closed the vent and looked at them. "The best thing is for us to split up. You two go that way and I'll go this way."

Christopher looked at her. "Who put you in charge?"

Nicole looked at him. "As long as Paulie is in this hospital I am next to take his place."

Sil shook his head. "Fuck this. Let's just go."

With that being said Nicole went her way and Christopher and Sil went theirs.

* * *

Jim, Catherine, Nick and Peter didn't know that they were now being followed. "Which way do we go?" Nick asked.

"Go right." Peter said as he was coming up behind Nick.

"Right? Why right?"

"Does it matter? It's not like we know where were going anyway." Catherine said.

Nick turned left and the rest of the group followed him. Catherine had managed to get herself behind Jim and didn't know that they were being followed. As she started to round the corner she felt someone grab her foot and start to pull her back.

"You're not getting away this time." Nicole said pulling Catherine toward her.

Jim heard this and managed to get himself turned around. He pounced on Nicole and knocked her on her back. This sent her gun skidding toward Catherine. Catherine picked it up and hit Nicole over the head with it, knocking her unconcious.

"Let's get out of here, NOW!" Catherine yelled. "Before the other two come looking for her." She put the gun into the pocket of her housecoat and started following Jim, Peter and Nick again.

* * *

Christopher was following Sil. "We're fucking lost you know that."

"No we're not."

"Than tell us where we are, Sil."

"We're in the fucking hospital."

"Fucking smart ass. Shut the fuck up and let's get the hell out of here." Christopher said as they turned another corner.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tony, Carmela and Ralphie were still sitting in the waiting room, waiting to here word on Paulie. Just then they heard banging coming from overhead. Carmela looked up at the heat duct. "What was that?"

Tony was about to check it out, when the vent cover popped open and Nicole fell out and landed on top Ralphie. "What the fuck?" Ralphie yelled.

Carmela jumped up and then looked at Nicole. "She has a gash on her forehead, Tony. Give me a handkerchief." Tony handed a handkerchief to Carmela. She pulled Nicole off of Ralphie and applied some pressure to the bleeding on her forehead.

"What the fuck was she doing in the heating ducts?" Tony asked.

"I don't know. We'll ask her when she regains conciousness." Ralphie replied sarcastically as he stood up from the couch

* * *

"Okay, face it were lost." Nick stated, as they crawled through the ducts.

"No were not. Andrea's office should be around here." Peter replied.

Catherine looked down through a vent cover before she passed over it. "Hey, look, there's Andrea now. She's helping Gil onto her couch."

"Let's get this opened and get out of here."Nick said as he manuevered back around. He tried pulling on it but it wouldn't budge. "It's stuck."

"Try pushing it." Peter said as he placed his hands on the other side of the cover. "Ready. Go!"

Nick and Peter pushed the vent cover as hard as they could. As it gave way, Peter and Nick fell through with it. Andrea was just about to leave her office to go look for them when she heard the crash.

As she turned back, she saw Catherine tumbling out of the vent and landing on Nick and Peter. "What the hell is going on?" Andrea asked.

Jim poked his head out of the vent and looked at Andrea. "Could someone get me a chair? I'd rather take the sane way out."

Andrea placed a chair under the vent as Jim dropped down and landed safely on the chair. "How's Gil doing?" Jim asked.

"The wound was superficial. Once I stopped the bleeding, I stitched him up good as new."

"Thank God." Catherine said as Jim helped her up from the floor.

Just than there was movement out of Gil. He coughed and started to sit up. "Whoa, Gil take it easy." Jim said helping him sit up.

"What happened?" Gil asked drowsy.

Andrea checked his bandage. "You were shot. But don't worry, it wasn't life threatening."

"Shot? Where exactly are we?" Grissom asked.

"We're at the hospital, Gris." Nick replied.

"Desert Palm?"

"No, Gil, Beth Israel in Newark, New Jersey." Catherine reminded him.

Grissom nodded. "I remember now. So, what's the plan? How are we getting out of here?"

"Good question." Peter said. "How the hell _are_ we getting out of here?"

Jim thought for a second. "Is there any way to get out past the waiting room? I bet those two guys from Tony's crew are still in the heating ducts."

"There's a stairwell at the end this hallway. It'll take us down to the lobby." Andrea said.

"Well, I say that's are best and safest bet." Catherine replied.

* * *

Nicole shook her head as she started to sit up. "Whoa take it easy." Tony said putting his arm around Nicole's shoulders.

She looked from Carmela to Tony. "Shit."

Carmela looked at Tony and then Nicole. "What happened?"

"We were checking out the rooms and noticed the cover to the heating duct was open so we decided to check it out. I found them but they got they better of me and that fucking bitch hit me with my gun."

"Fucking cocksuckers!" Tony yelled.

"Sir, please keep your voice down." A nurse said from the nurse's station.

"Where are Chris and Sil?" Ralphie asked.

"I don't know. They're probably still in the ducts." Nicole replied.

"Just great. Just fucking great." Tony said. He was pissed off at the fact that they shot both his cousin and his right hand man Paulie. And to add to it, they just kept coming back and would not die. No matter what his best men (and woman) came up with.

* * *

Christopher and Sil were still crawling through the ducts when suddenly it gave way and they fell to the floor. "Son of a bitch!" Christopher yelled as Sil came down on top of him.

Sil stood up and looked around the room. Then he noticed a nurse staring at him. She was just getting Paulie situated in his bed. "I'm calling security." she said.

"Wait! Wait!" Christopher yelled as the nurse started to walk out into the hallway. "Aw fuck! We got to get out of here."

"No shit really?" Sil said as they walked out just after the nurse and ran towards the waiting room, as fast as they could walk with out being noticed by other people around the hospital.

They reached the waiting room and ran right into Tony. "Where the fuck have you two been?"

"We just fell out of the heating duct into Paulie's room. There was a nurse there and she's gone to call fucking security." Christopher explained.

"Fuck, have you fucked up anything else?" Tony almost yelled. He tried to calm himself down. "All right. You two get the fuck out of here and go to Bada Bing's. Carm..."

Carmela looked at him. "Yeah okay. I get the hint."

Nicole looked at Tony. "T.?"

"You stay here and wait for word on Paulie." Tony said.

Ralphie looked at Nicole. "I'll wait with you. If you don't mind?" he asked.

Nicole just shook her head.

"You coming Tony?" Sil asked as he and Christopher were standing near the exit of the waiting room. Carmela had already left by this point.

"Yeah be there in a second." He said and watch the two leave. He turned to Nicole.

"What?" She asked.

"Listen, I want you to know, you've been doing good. It's just we've underestimated these fuckers. I'm starting to think they're inhuman." Tony laughed. "But I just want you to know, that we're good. No hard feelings over the other night."

"None, Tony. That was business. I understand." Nicole said and hugged him.

Tony returned the hug. "Okay. Now I want you to stay here, until you hear some news about Paulie. And when you do..."

"I know. I'll call you right away."

* * *

Andrea opened the door to her office and peered out into the hallway. "Okay, the coast is clear. Let's go."

Peter and Nick were helping Grissom, only because Jim's stitches haven't quite healed at this point. "Down this way?" Jim asked.

"Yeah, the stairwell is at the end of the hall." Andrea replied as they made their way out of the office.

"Long as were not seen, all is good. But Tony could have everyone at this place." Peter commented.

Catherine looked at Peter. "You know if you don't shut your goddamn fucking mouth, Peter. I will, for you."

"Yeah, no kidding." Nick replied. "Now I know why they call you Pessimistic Pete. You gotta start thinking positive, man, cause all this negativity is just making things worse."

"Thinking positive is not an option when you're up against the Soprano crew." Peter stated.

They finally made it to the stairwell and Andrea opened the door. "Okay, we're good. The stairwell's empty."

"Now we just have to see if one of the Soprano crew members is waiting for us at the bottom." Peter commented.

Nick shook his head. "We've slipped past them before. What's stopping us now?"

"Cause they're smart man. They most likely are waiting for us at this end." Peter answered.

"What? Are you saying it would have been safer to go out the front?" Catherine asked.

Peter shook his head. "One of them would have been there too."

Jim looked at Peter. "You know, I'm getting damn sick and tired of you telling us how smart and dangerous these people are. If they're so goddamn great, then how come we're all still here?"

"Well, it's not for lack of trying." Peter replied.

Catherine looked at them. "Would you all just look on the bright side; before I flip?"

Jim took Catherine's hand. "Okay, let's get down to the lobby. Then we get back to the truck and get the hell out of here."

They made their way down the three flights of stairs. Once they were at the bottom, Jim opened the door and looked outside. As he was about to walk out into the lobby he noticed Tony walking off the elevator. "Shit! Tony's out there." Jim said as he closed the door.

"See, I told you." Peter stated.

"Shut up before _I_ kill you." Catherine stated, coldly.

Jim smiled at Catherine and then peered out the door again. "He's leaving the hospital." Jim said. "Okay, he just went out the front doors."

"Do you see anyone else, Jim?" Nick asked.

"No, just a security guard at the front desk."

"Oh yeah, we look like we just came from a Halloween party. Do you think he is _not_ going to stop us?" Peter asked.

Nick shook his head. "Just how did you become Captain of a homicide squad?"

"Everyone calm down. I know everyone in this hospital, we should have no problem getting out of here." Andrea stated.

"Right. Catherine's running around in a house coat and slippers. There's no explanation for that." Peter said.

"Peter, I swear to God, one more smart ass remark out of you and I'm duct taping you to the lamp post in front of Tony Soprano's house." Catherine snapped.

Grissom who had been sitting on the bottom step of the staircase had been silent up until now. "Uh, excuse me, but arguing with each other is not helping the situation. We have to work together if we're gonna get out of here."

"You do that and I swear on my grave that I will come back as a ghost and tell Tony where you are. And even if it kills me I will help his crew get you." Peter almost yelled.

Catherine looked at him. "But uh... if your dead how will it kill you?"

Jim grabbed Peter by his shirt and slammed him against the wall. "Pete, I understand we're all under a lot of stress here but if you _ever _speak to Catherine like that again, Tony's crew will be the least of your problems!"

"Least? Uh hello, they're the major part of all our problems!" Peter said pulling away from Jim's grip. Not getting what Jim said.

Grissom managed to stand back up at this point. "Enough of this! I think we should take our chances with the security guard."

"I agree with Gil." Catherine replied.

Andrea opened the door and looked out. She saw the security guard behind the desk. "Don't worry, Gus is on duty. He's a sweet old man."

Peter looked at Andrea. "And what the hell is your story going to be? That we're running from a blood thirsty mafia group?"

"No, that we're returning you to the psycho ward." Andrea replied.

Nick looked at her. "Good idea, but no way am I gonna drool."

Andrea smiled at Nick and proceed to walk into the lobby. Everyone followed close behind and were waiting for Gus to stop them. Gus looked up when he noticed them walking across the lobby. "Evening, Dr. B." Gus said and tipped his hat.

"Evening Gus. How are you?" Andrea asked as they walked passed the security desk.

"Things are real good."

"That's good. I'll see you later Gus." Andrea said as they walked out to the street of the hosptial.

Peter's eyes were wide. "You've got to be kidding me. It worked!"

"Of course, it worked. I never underestimated Andrea for a second." Nick said.

"Thanks, Nick."

"Okay, let's get to the truck and get as far away from here as possible." Jim stated.

"Where are we going to go? We have no wheels." Peter pointed out.

Andrea slapped Peter in the back of the head. "Are you mentally challanged? Jimmy just said 'let's get to the truck'."

Peter glared at Andrea. "Okay, so I didn't fucking hear him."

Nick looked at Peter. "How the hell did we get to the hospital? _In the truck_. Can you say 'truck'?"

Peter lunged at Nick. "Whoa, back off, Pete!" Jim yelled and pushed him back. "Now, we can all stand here and argue or we can get the hell out of here. What's it gonna be?"

"My vote goes to the latter." Catherine replied.

"Yeah, please, my head is really starting to pound." Grissom added.

* * *

Nicole sighed and stood up, she started to pace back and forth. She was glad that things between her and Tony were good again. For awhile there she was starting to get scared of her own cousin, and she hated that fact. Her and Tony always got along, and when he offered her a spot in his crew she jumped at the chance. And she did her best to run up the ranks, to lieutenant; under Paulie.

"Hey, you're wearing a groove into the floor." Ralphie said.

"I can't help it. I'm worried about Paulie."

"You got a thing for him, don't you?"

Nicole stopped pacing and looked at Ralphie. She slowly nodded her head. "I'm in love him, Ralphie."

Ralphie shook his head. "I should have known. You spend an awful lot of time with him. Are you two...?"

"Sleeping together? No."

Before Ralphie could reply, the doctor approached Nicole. "Excuse me? Are you here about Mr. Gualtieri?"

Nicole turned and faced the doctor. "Yes, I am. Is he okay? Can I see him?"

"The bullet didn't do any permanent damage. We have him stabalized and situated in a private room. He's asleep but you can see him if you want."

Nicole looked at Ralphie and when he nodded, she followed the doctor to Paulie's room. "Take as much time as you need." the doctor said.

"Thank you." Nicole said and entered Paulie's room.

Nicole walked into the room. It seemed as if the room was holding its breath. She looked at Paulie and he seemed so vulnerable. It wasn't like Paulie to look like that. However she knew the reason why. He had lost a lot of blood. She flipped her hair off her shoulder, as she pulled up a chair to the bed. "Hey Paulie. I don't know if you can hear me. But I got some things I have to say. First, if it wasn't for you being there when Ralphie pulled that fucking gun on me, I don't know what would have happened. And those god damn assholes that we've been after. I guess, when you got shot, you scared the shit out of me." She said, as she was on the verg of tears. "I guess for the past could of days, we've been through a whole hell of a lot. And if you hadn't been there all that time, I honestly don't know... don't want to know what would have happened." she said, and now there were a few tears making their way down her cheeks.

"It's not me you should be worrying about," She sniffed, the tears back.

He shook his head. "Your in tears, kid."

"Paulie..."

"You look a lot prettier when you smile, you know that?"

"Now I do."

"Hey, don't worry. It'll take a lot more than a bullet to stop me."

She took his hand. "Yeah, I believe it. But it didn't stop me from worrying about you though."

"You know, you don't have to."

She smiled slightly. "Yeah I know."

* * *

They had finally made it back to the truck. Jim climbed behind the wheel, Catherine took shotgun and everyone else piled in the back. Jim drove them to the airport and parked in a tow away zone.

As they were getting out of the truck a police officer stopped them. "You can't park that here!" he yelled.

"Tow it." Catherine called back as they went into the airport.

As they were walking to find a ticket counter, people in the airport started to point and laugh at them. The group didn't care, they just wanted to get the hell out of Dodge.

Grissom handed Jim the cash and walked up to the American Airlines ticket counter. "I need six tickets to Las Vegas." Jim said.

The ticket agent looked at the group strangely and then looked at her screen. "Okay, we have a flight leaving in twenty minutes. There will be a stop in St. Louis and from there you will go into Las Vegas."

"Fine. We'll take them." Jim said.

"That will be $5604." Jim pulled out the cash and paid the woman who then gave him six tickets. "Do you have any luggage or carry-ons?"

"No."

"Okay then. Your flight will be departing from gate 6."

"What's the travel time?" Catherine asked.

"Seven hours and fifty-five minutes."

"Thank you."

They all made their way to gate six and waited for the boarding to begin.

* * *

Nicole sat in the chair looking at Paulie. He had fallen asleep again, due to the medication, he had received. She shook her head, and couldn't help but wonder what Tony and the rest were doing about the group that had tried to kill her and Paulie.

* * *

The rest of the crew was at the Bing trying to figure out what to do next. "I say we go back to Pete's. Who knows maybe that's where they went." Christopher stated.

"Or they could still be at that fucking hospital. Either way we have to find them fast." Tony replied.

"I'm with Tony. I say they're still at that hospital." Sil stated.

"Who knows where they are. For all we fucking know those cocksuckers are on a plane back to where ever the fuck they came from." Christopher pointed out.

"Good point. You and Sil go check out Liberty International. See if you can find them." Tony ordered as his phone rang.

* * *

Nicole sighed as she stood in front of the hospital. "T. it's me."

"Any word on Paulie?" Tony asked on the other end.

Nicole started to pace. "Yeah, he's gonna be okay. The bullet didn't do any long term damage."

"Did you talk to him?"

"Yeah... for about a minute."

"Christopher thinks those cocksuckers may be trying to catch a plane out of here so I sent him and Sil out to Liberty."

"You want me to catch up with them?" Nicole asked.

"No, you stay with Paulie."

"No problem, T."

* * *

Finally it came time to board the plane. They all got on and found their seats. Jim and Catherine sat with Grissom, while Nick and Andrea sat with Peter.

Five minutes later, Nick looked out the window and watched at the plane lifted off. "Las Vegas here we come." he said.

**TBC...**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Nicole wrapped herself up in the blanket as she sat back down in the chair. Paulie was still asleep. She looked at the clock and it was quarter past midnight. She sighed as she got comfortable. It had been one hell of a night, and a stressful one as well. She wondered how Christopher and Sil were making out finding the people, that they were after.

At this point in time things just started to hit her. She had no where to go. Sure she could go back to the house, but problem with that was that it was Ralphie's house. And she really didn't want to stay there due to the fact that she and Ralphie were no longer together and she confessed to him about being in love with Paulie.

Soon the day's events started to take a toll on her and she fell into a restless sleep in the chair.

* * *

Christopher and Sil were running up to the airport when Christopher noticed something. "Yo, Sil!"

"What? We fucking gotta get in there." Sil said turning back around.

"Look. I recognize that truck that's being towed."

"Who's is it?" Sil asked.

"That fucking bitch owns it. That means they're here." Christopher replied as he ran toward the doors.

Sil followed and they stopped a few feet into the airport. The place was as packed full of people. "This is like grand fucking central." Christopher commented as they looked around.

"Well let's start looking." Sil replied.

Christopher looked at him. "Where? There has to be over fucking three thousand people here!"

"Quit fucking whining like a little bitch and get moving." Sil said making his way through the crowd.

Christopher followed Sil into the crowd and started looking for familiar faces. After ten minutes, Christopher found Sil. "I can't fucking see them anywhere."

"If that was their truck than they have to be here. Let's go fucking talk to the ticket counter," Sil said as he started to make his way towards the ticket counter.

Once there the lady looked at him. "May I help you?"

"Yes, I need to know if anyone under the name Brass booked a flight here tonight." Sil asked.

The lady shook her head, "I'm sorry I can't release that information."

"We need to know. They're a couple friends of ours." Christopher lied, trying to keep his cool.

She hook her head again. "I'm sorry gentlemen. I can't release that information."

Sil pulled Christopher away. "Okay, so that was a dead fucking end. We have to keep looking for them."

"Fuck that shit. It's like looking for a needle in a hay stack." Christopher almost yelled.

Sil shook his head. "What good is it going to do if we talk to her again? We have to fucking keep looking."

"You know what. Nicole could have gotten that fucking information out of that bitch behind that fucking counter."

* * *

On the plane, everyone was asleep, with the exception of Jim and Catherine. "Hey, take a look at them." Jim said pointing. Andrea was asleep with her head on Nick's shoulder and he was holding her hand.

"Everyone needs someone. Especially after all that we've been through." Catherine said and took Jim's hand.

"I'm sorry you got dragged into all of this, Cath."

"I didn't get dragged into anything, Jim. We went to Newark to solve a homicide and things got out of hand. But what's happened between us this last couple of weeks, I wouldn't trade for anything."

Jim looked at Catherine, then leaned in to kiss her. When they parted he looked into her eyes. "I love you, Catherine."

"I love you, too, Jim." she said and kissed him again as the flight attendant's voice came over the speaker.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be making our decent into St. Louis in approximately 10 minutes. I advise you to put your trays in an upright position and fasten your seatbelts."

Jim and Catherine fastened their seatbelts as Grissom was opening his eyes. "How's the shoulder, Gil?" Jim asked.

"Stiff and sore. At least Andrea gave me some pain medication." Grissom replied.

"Well, don't worry, Gil, another few hours and we'll be home." Catherine stated.

* * *

Christopher and Sil had been searching the airport for three hours at this point. "Let's face it, they're not fucking here." Christopher said.

"Maybe they were never here." Sil replied.

"No way, man, that was her truck getting towed."

"How do you know that for sure? It's not like it's the only fucking Tahoe in the city." Sil stated.

Christopher sighed. "What the fuck do we do now?"

"Let's get back to the Bing and see what T. says."

* * *

Jim, Catherine, Nick, Grissom, Andrea and Peter were in St. Louis waiting for their connecting flight to Vegas. "How long do we have to wait?" Andrea asked.

Jim looked at his watch. "Should be anytime now."

"Well, at least we can relax." Catherine said.

"Yeah, I don't think we have to worry about them looking for us here." Nick added.

Just then there was an announcement over the PA. "Flight 79 to Las Vegas is now boarding through gate 4. Flight 79 to Las Vegas is now boarding through gate 4."

"Finally." Peter said and stood up.

"Yeah, in a few hours this whole mess will be behind us." Nick stated as they made their way to gate 4.

"I hope." Catherine said worried.

* * *

Sil and Christopher walked into the Bing and found Tony and Ralphie in the back room. "Well?" Tony asked.

"We don't know for sure if they were ever at the airport, Tony." Sil said.

"Yeah, but a truck was being towed that looked an awful lot like that bitch's." Christopher added.

Tony looked at them. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do. I'll go back to the hospital, you two check out Pete's house. If they're still in town we'll find them."

"And if they're not?" Christopher asked.

"Then it looks like it's over." Tony said and left the backroom of the Bing.

"That's it? You're just gonna give up?" Ralphie asked.

"Yeah. If they're gone then it's dropped." Tony replied.

* * *

Sil and Christopher pulled up to Peter's house. "Think they're here?" Christopher asked.

Sil looked at the house. "It's dark. If they're here than they're fucking sleeping."

"Why don't we take a look?" Christopher said as he got out of the truck. Both gentlemen walked up the walkway to the house.

Standing on the front porch Sil looked at Christopher. "Be my guest."

Christopher looked around and put his hand on the door knob. "Well what'da'ya know. It's unlocked."

Sil and Christopher entered the house. Both gentlemen heard a noise in the back of the house. Christopher looked at Sil and placed his index finger over his lips. "I just heard something."

Both men pulled their guns and crept towards the back of the house.

As they started down the hallway they heard the noise again. Almost like a thumping noise. Sil stopped Christopher and pointed at one of the doors. "In there." He said in a whisper.

Christopher stood in front of Sil. "On three."

"One."

"Two."

"Three." Both gentlemen said, than Christopher kicked the door in not bothering to open it by hand.

When Christopher kicked the door in a cat ran out. "Son of a bitch!" he yelled.

* * *

Tony walked into the hospital and kept an eye out for any sign of the six people who had made his life hell over the past two weeks. He made his way to Paulie's room and found Nicole sitting in a chair by the bed.

She looked up when she noticed motion in the doorway. "How's he doing?" Tony asked as he walked into the room.

"Still sleeping. Any luck finding those fuckers?"

Tony shook his head. "Sil and Christopher couldn't find them at the airport. They're gone to Pete's now."

"I have a feeling they left town, T."

"Yeah, I'm getting that feeling too." Tony said and sat down in the other chair beside Nicole. "How you feeling?"  
"I've been better. Listen, I never thanked you for taking Ralphie out."

"Hey, that cocksucker had it coming."

"Anyway, I appreciate it."

"Your welcome." Tony said as he noticed movement coming from Paulie. Tony stood up and walked over to the bed. "How you feeling?"

"I'm gonna live, Ton. Any word on those cocksuckers?" Paulie asked.

"No, we haven't found them yet. But don't worry, Christopher and Sil are on it."

"Ah, they're no fucking good. They couldn't find a hole in a donut." Paulie said waving his hand in the air.

Nicole burst out in laughter, she went to say something and she started to laugh harder.

* * *

Christopher and Sil were just coming out of Peter's house. "Those fuckers are long gone, Sil. I knew it was her truck getting towed."

"Hey, just because they're not here doesn't mean they left the city." Sil replied as they got back into the truck.

"Sil, open your fucking eyes. We lost them, they're gone for good." Christopher said starting the engine.

"Let's go back to the Bing and wait for Tony. Then we'll find out what our next move is."

Christopher pulled the truck away from the curb and drove back to Bada Bing.

* * *

Tony looked at Nicole. "You coming back to the Bing with me? To see what Christopher and Sil found out?" He asked standing up.

Nicole looked at Paulie than Tony. "Ton' I think I might stay here a little longer..."

Paulie shook his head. "Kid, go back with T."

Tony stood at the door at this point. "You comin'?"

Nicole and Paulie exchanged looks. She sighed with a half smile. "Yeah, I'm comin'. I'm comin'."

* * *

Christopher sat down on the couch while Sil grabbed a few drinks. "What the hell is taking T. so goddamn fucking long?" Christopher whined.

Sil looked at him while he handed him a drink. "Quit your fucking bitchy whining, Chrissy."

A half hour later, Tony and Nicole made their way into the Bing. "Okay, what's going on?" Tony asked.

"Pete's place was empty, T." Christopher said.

"Doesn't surprise me." Nicole said sitting down on the couch. "They're fucking gone."

"Okay, so what's the plan on finding them?" Sil asked.

"There isn't one. If they're no longer in Jersey, they're no longer our problem." Tony said.

Nicole looked at Tony. "Ton', these fucking cocksuckers tried to kill me and Paulie. How can we just let them go?"

"Because I fucking said so. I'm the head of this family and if I say drop it, you drop it. Got it?" Tony yelled.

"Yeah, Tony, I got it."

Christopher looked at Nicole. He knew what she meant, and he knew that she was going to follow his orders as well. But he also understood her want to get these guys. "So than what are we going to do now T.?"

"We're gonna move on and deal with the rest of our business that we've been neglecting. Capiche?"

"No problem, T." Christopher said and took a drink of his beer.

Nicole stood up. "Unless you have something I need to take care of Tony, I would like to go home, have a shower, something to eat and get some sleep."

"Go. I'll see you in the morning." Tony said and watched Nicole leave. "There's not a whole lot we can do tonight, so I'll meet you both back here in the morning."

"Yeah, we'll be here, Tony." Christopher said.

Tony left the club and Christopher looked at Sil. "You think he's serious about letting this thing go?"

"I don't know. But until he says otherwise, we gotta follow orders." Sil said and walked out to the front of the club.

Christopher sighed and then downed the rest of his beer. "Yeah, I'll follow them. Doesn't mean I gotta like them." he said to himself.

* * *

Nicole found herself walking around aimlessly. She didn't really want to go home, considering the home she did have was the one with Ralphie. But she needed a shower and a change of clothes. She knew she had to get the money she had and the clothes and get herself an apartment. Which is what she was going to do tomorrow.

She got to the house and was glad when she saw that Ralphie wasn't home. After she had a shower and a change of clothes, she grabbed one of the cars that was at the house and drove around. Before she knew it she found herself at the hospital again. She sat in the parking lot and looked down at the steering wheel. She didn't really know why she was there again but she was. She didn't bother to get out. She just sat there, hands on the wheel.

"Damn it." she said to no one in paticular. She was just frustrated. With the weeks that had gone by things just went to hell, and it all started with the hit man that couldn't do his job. She took a deep breath and started to think about all the things that had gone on, with Ralphie's son getting hurt, having to face Tony with her mess ups, to getting shot and having Paulie take her to the hospital, to the mock execution, and to top it off, Paulie getting shot.

The next thing she knew she found herself walking up to the entrance of the hospital. Without thinking she just let her feet do the work. It was almost like she wasn't even controling her own body. It was funny to her how even though she was a Soprano she still could feel this drained and almost numbness about what has gone on.

Nicole stood outside of Paulie's room and watched him through the doorway. He was sleeping and she tried to think about what it would be like if Paulie wasn't around anymore and truth be told she couldn't imagine her life without him. That's why she wanted revenge on these people, not just for what they did to her but mostly for what they did to Paulie. That's why she was pissed off at Tony right now. She couldn't believe that Tony wanted to drop the matter. After everything that went down, Tony just let it go.

Nicole slowly walked into the room and sat down beside the bed. She took Paulie's hand in hers and spoke to him softly. "I'm gonna get those fuckers, Paulie. I promise. No matter what T. says, I'm gonna get them."

**TBC...**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

The plane finally landed in Vegas and Jim, Catherine and Nick were finally back home. They couldn't believe they made it back in one piece. The group made their way to the long term parking garage where Grissom's truck was parked.

They all piled in and Jim drove back to the Crime lab. When they arrived, they all went inside. Warrick was making his way down the hall when he saw them. He looked right at Jim and Catherine and laughed. "My God, if it isn't Ma and Pa Kettle."

Catherine glared and Warrick. "I'm not in the mood for anymore smartass remarks. I just want to shower, change and go home." she said walking off down the hall.

"What's up with her?" Warrick asked.

"Look 'Rick, it's been a rough couple weeks. I really don't wanna talk about it right now." Jim said and followed Catherine down the hall.

Warrick turned back to the remaining group and noticed Grissom with his arm in a sling. "Whoa, what happened Gris?" Grissom just shook his head and walked off. "What the hell is up with everyone?"

"Look, Warrick, we're all kinda tired and hungry. Give us a chance to settle in and relax a little bit and we'll fill you in later." Nick said and turned to Andrea and Peter. "Come on, I'll show you where you can freshen up a bit."

Warrick watched them walk off as Sara came up beside him. "Hey, what's going on? I just saw Catherine and Brass and they look like they've been through the ringer."

"I don't know but I can't wait to find out." Warrick said as he and Sara made their way to the lab.

* * *

Catherine walked up to the shower stall. She couldn't believe what had happened over the past week. And God was she stressed and sore from what had happened. Though she was glad that it was over, and done with. And that her and Jim could be together safely. Considering she was still planning on helping him recover from what his brother had done to him.

She turned on the water and when she stepped in it was like heaven. Vegas was heaven to her, and there was no way she was returning to New Jersey. Her and Jim were going to stay safe and sound in Vegas. Though she knew that New Jersey is where he came from, she hoped never to have to return there without a damn good reason, and three simple words were not involved: The Soprano Crew.

Catherine stood under the hot water for what seemed like an eternity. When she finished, she shut the water off and reached for her towel. She felt along the wall and noticed the towel was no longer there.

"Okay, whoever took my towel has a death wish." Catherine yelled and walked around the corner of the shower room.

"Looking for this?" Jim asked. He had showered, shaved and changed his clothes and now he was standing there with the towel and a smirk on his face.

Catherine smiled. "Can I have my towel please?" she asked.

"Okay, since you asked nicely." Jim held the towel open and Catherine walked into his waiting arms. He wrapped the towel around her and held her close.

* * *

Nick had shown Andrea and Peter where they could freshen up and then he showered and changed himself. Once he was finished he found Andrea and Peter in the break room. Peter was sitting at the table reading the newspaper, while Andrea was asleep on the couch.

"If your thinking of waking her, you have a death wish." Peter said not bothering looking up from his newspaper.

Nick looked at Peter. "Are you kidding. I wasn't thinking of waking her. Quite a few of us had spent a few hours sleeping on that couch before." Nick said getting an Ice Tea from the small fridge.

Just as Nick sat down at the table, Warrick walked into the break room. "Okay, Nicky, I wanna know what happened while you guys were in Jersey. And why I just saw Jim go into the women's showers."

Nick sighed and looked at Warrick. "Okay, you know we were assigned the Romano homicide right?"

"Yeah, I wanted a piece of that but Grissom had something else for me." Warrick replied.

"You should thank him for that." Peter said putting the paper down.

"And you are?"

"Peter Brass." he said holding out his hand to Warrick.

Warrick shook his hand and asked. "Brass?"

"Yeah, he's Jim's brother." Nick answered. "And that's his sister Andrea sleeping on the couch."

"Okay, so what went down?"

"Long story short. None of us plan on ever going back to New Jersey." Nick answered.

Warrick pulled a chair up. "Okay no long story short. I want full story, man."

"Well, it all started when genius here shot Jim..." Nick started.

"That was an accident." Peter said defensively and looked at Warrick who had a shocked look on his face. "We were struggling on the floor and the gun accidently went off."

"You shouldn't've pulled one in the first place." Nick said.

"Well, if you guys had of took my advice and just left when I told you to, we wouldn't be in the mess were in." Peter replied.

"Okay, anyway, what happened next?" Warrick asked.

"So, we got Jim to the hospital, which if Catherine hadn't of been in the room with Jim he wouldn't have made it." Nick said glaring at Peter.

"Okay, why was Catherine there to begin with?"

"You didn't know that she and Jim are seeing each other?" Nick asked.

"What!" Warrick yelled.

"Yeah, just before this whole mess started. Anyway, while Jim is in the hospital, Catherine gets grabbed by the Soprano crew..."

"The Soprano crew? Shit, man, you're lucky you're here at all." Warrick stated.

"See? Even he knows what they're like." Peter said.

"Will you shut up, Peter?" Andrea said groggy as she rolled over to face the back of the couch.

"I didn't do anything." he said.

"Okay, so what happened next?" Warrick asked eagerly.

"Anyway, Catherine got away and she made her way back to the hospital. So, then she gets the bright idea to go back and find a grave that she thinks she tripped over. Well, anyway she drags me along and we see two members of the crew digging up this grave when he," Nick said and pointed to Peter. "showed up and shoots the chick in the shoulder. So, now these guys want blood. Well, when we get back to town, Catherine dropped me off at the hospital so I could talk to Andrea and warn her about what was going on. Only when I get there, she has to deal with a patient and two guys from Tony's crew grab me and take me to some butcher shop. They beat the shit out of me because I wouldn't tell them where Peter was. Although, if I knew what an asshole he was I would have talked."

"Fuck you, Stokes." Peter said.

Andrea rolled over. "Peter Brass, will you fucking shut that goddamn mouth of yours?"

Peter ignored her as Nick continued. "So, after Andrea helped me out of the jam I was in, they dropped me out in front of the hospital where Andrea took care of me." Nick said and smiled at her.

Warrick looked at Nick. "What was that, man?"

"What?"

"That smile on your face when you looked at her."

"Nothing. Let's just get back to the story. So, we all hide out at the hotel until we could slip out and make it to Andrea's house. Only they found us somehow and torched the place. Well, we managed to get out and the only way we knew how to get home was to call Gris and have him fly out with some cash. Although, that didn't really go as planned. Grissom got shot trying to get Cath's truck out of the hotel garage. Not only that, I shot a member of the crew."

"Which was pretty stupid." Peter stated.

"Hey, he was going to shoot Jim. I had no choice. So, we get Grissom to the hospital and while Andrea was fixing him up we ended up crawling around in the heating ducts trying to get away from these guys. Thankfully we got out of there and made it to the airport and here we are."

"Holy shit! Man, that sounds like something out of a movie. But I'm glad you made it out of there in one piece. Okay, so now explain to me why I saw Jim going into the women's showers."

"Well, my guess would be that Catherine was in there." Nick said.

"Yes, I was." Catherine said from the doorway.

"You know, Rick, you're way too curious for your own good." Jim said walking in behind Catherine.

"I can't help it. It's what makes me a good CSI." Warrick said in defense.

Andrea shook her head and looked at Jim. "So where do we get to sleep tonight?"

Jim looked at Catherine and she looked at him. "Well, I guess my house if you want. I still got to talk to my sister, to see how my daughter is doing."

"Daughter?" Andrea asked.

"Yeah, with my hours I work, she stays there." Catherine answered.

Andrea smiled. "I know what you mean, unlike some others." She said looking at Peter.

Peter jumped up from his chair. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Andrea smiled. "Oh nothing."

"Someone must have a guilty conscious." Nick commented.

"Nicky, Peter has always been like that." Jim answered.

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Nicole was asleep in the chair by Paulie's bed when she thought she heard someone enter the room. She looked up but no one was there. She swore she heard the door open.

She jumped up from the chair and spun around. There was no one in the room but her and Paulie. She could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest and her head felt like it was about to explode. She shook her head wildly. No it was just her mind playing tricks on her. It had to be. There was no other explanation for it.

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

Jim sighed as he layed down in bed, Catherine joined him once she took off her house coat. Jim wrapped his arms around her. "It's been one hell of a couple weeks, Jimmy."

Jim nodded, "Yeah it has been. But don't worry Cath, everything is going to work out okay."

She closed her eyes. "I know, Jimmy."

Closing his eyes he smiled. "I promise. Everything will eventually work out, no matter what happens."

"I love you, Jimmy." Catherine whispered as she started to fall asleep.

Jim kissed the top of her head, "I love you too, Catherine."

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Nicole was standing in the middle of Paulie's room breathing heavy. Paulie opened his eyes and saw how terrified she looked. "Hey, what's the matter, Nic?" he asked.

"I swear I just heard someone come into the room." she said shaking and on the verge of tears.

"There's no here but you and me, sweetheart." Paulie said looking around and then looked back at Nicole. He held out his hand. "Come here, honey." Nicole slowly walked over to the bed and took Paulie's hand. He lifted up the covers on his bed and she climbed in beside him. "Everything's gonne be okay."

Nicole looked up at Paulie and smiled a little. He smiled back and tilted her chin up with his finger. Then he leaned in and gently kissed her lips. Nicole returned the kiss and wrapped her arms carefully around him. "I always feel safe when I'm with you, Paulie."

"I'm glad, honey, because I'm never leaving your side."

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

Nick looked at Andrea, "Are you sure you want to sleep on the couch? I mean, you can take my bed and I'll take the couch." he offered.

Andrea shook her head. "No Nick. I'll sleep on the couch. But thanks for the offer."

"No, I'll take the couch. You take the bed. You need more sleep than I do."

"Nick. You go to sleep in your bed, I'm quite fine with the couch."

"Andrea..." Nick said sitting down on the couch before she did. "I'll sleep here."

"Nick..." She said sitting down on the couch next to him. "I'm sleeping on the couch. You take your own bed."

"No." He said gently trying to get her to stand.

Andrea laughed, as she pushed him down. Before they knew it they were in each others arms. Nick gently kissed her and was glad when she returned the kiss.

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

The next morning, Nicole woke up in Paulie's arms. It had been the best nights sleep she had gotten in a long time. She didn't move, she just layed their with her head on his chest and listened to his heart beat.

"Good morning." Paulie said.

Nicole looked up at him and smiled. "Good morning."

"It's too bad the first night we spend together has to be in a hospital bed."

"I don't care about the location, Paulie, I'm just happy to be with you."

Paulie was about to kiss her again when the door opened. "Well, don't you two look cozy." Tony said walking into the room.

"Morning, Ton." Paulie said.

Tony sat down in a chair as Nicole was about to get out of bed. "No, no, don't move on my account."

Nicole layed back down and then looked at Tony. "T., I have to ask, are you serious about dropping this whole matter?"

"Hey, if we find out they're still in town, I'll let you deal with them. But I have a feeling they're already gone anyway."

"Those lousy fucking cocksuckers. One of these days they'll get what's coming to them."

"Paulie, relax. You just worry about getting better. Let us worry about them." Nicole said.

"I want that little prick that shot me for myself. I think I'm entitled."

"You're right, you are. But like I said, if they've left town, then that's it we have to let it go." Tony repeated.

Neither Paulie or Nicole liked that idea one bit. One of these days, with or without Tony's consent they were going to take matters into their own hands.

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

Catherine woke up to the smell of freah coffee brewing. She reached out across the bed and found that she was alone. She smiled and got out of bed. She put on her house coat and made her way downstairs.

Catherine walked into the kitchen and found Jim and Lindsey having breakfast. "Hi mom, Jim made pancakes."

"He did, huh?" Catherine said and hugged Lindsey. "How did you get here?"

"Your sister had to work early so she dropped her off." Jim answered.

"Well, I'm glad she did." Catherine smiled.

Catherine poured herself a cup of coffee and watched Jim and Lindsey together at the table. She was happy to see them getting along. But she still felt nervous about Lindsey's reaction when she found out that Catherine and Jim were now officially a couple. But truth be told Lindsey needed a strong male role model in her life and Jim could definitely provide that. Eddie's death had been particularly hard on both of them but now, with Jim there, things seemed a lot brighter.

"Are you hungry?" Jim asked.

"Mmmhmm." Catherine said and sat down at the table. "It smells great." Jim dished her up some pancakes and bacon and passed the plate to her. Catherine picked up her fork and dug in. "These are delicious, Jim. I knew you could cook but I didn't know how well."

Jim smiled and winked at her. "Just one of my many talents."

Catherine understood what he meant and blushed. When she finished her breakfast, she suddenly felt sick. She put her plate in the dishwasher and ran to the bathroom. Jim followed her. He stood outside the bathroom door and heard her throwing up.

"Honey, are you okay?" he asked as he opened the door. Catherine looked up at him but then had to throw up again. Jim walked over to her and held her hair back. "I think everything is finally catching up with you. Maybe you should see a doctor."

Lindsey appeared in the doorway looking worried. "Mom, are you okay?"

"I'm okay, sweetheart." Catherine said wiping her mouth.

Just then they heard the front door. "Hello? You guys up yet?" Nick called out.

"We'll be out in a minute." Jim called back. He handed Catherine a glass of water and some kleenex.

"Thank you."

Jim made his way out to the living room and found Nick and Andrea there. "How was your night?" Jim asked.

Andrea slipped her arm around Nick's waist and smiled. "Pretty amazing." she said.

"Well, I see you two have gotten closer." Catherine said walking into the room with Lindsey.

"Hey, Nick, can I steal you away from my sister for a few hours. I was hoping you could help me with something?" Jim asked.

Nick looked at Andrea, who nodded and then back to Jim. "Sure thing, Jim."

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Tony and Nicole walked into the Bing and found Christopher and Sil waiting there. "Hey, T. So, what's the plan?" Christopher asked.

"For what?"

"For finding these pricks."

"There isn't one. If they're not at that fucking hospital or Pete's place then they're definitely gone. So, fucking drop it." Tony warned him.

"Come on, Tony, they can't get away with what they've done." Christopher continued to argue.

"Hey, Chrissy, if Tony wants this dropped then we have to drop it." Nicole stated as Christopher looked at her in surprise. "I know I don't like it either but we have no choice."

"Okay, we have other business to take care of." Tony said and looked at Christopher. "You have to deal with that scooter shipment coming in. I don't want that fucked up." Then he turned to Nicole. "I talked to Paulie's doctor, he said he's gonna be released this afternoon, so I want you to pick him up."

"No problem, Tony, I'll be there." Nicole replied.

"Okay, I have a meeting with Johnny Sack about our New York contracts. We'll all meet back here later." Tony said and left.

After Tony left, Christopher looked at Nicole. "You really wanna give up on finding them?" he asked.

"Fuck no! But I also don't want to piss Tony off anymore than we already have. Don't worry, Chris, we'll get them. No matter how long it takes." Nicole replied.

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

A few hours later Jim made his way back to Catherine's. He walked into the house and noticed it was empty. "Catherine? Are you home?" he called out.

When no one answered he went into the living room and relaxed on the couch. Twenty minutes later he heard a car pull into the driveway. Catherine walked into the house and found Jim in the living room.

"Hey." she said.

"Hey, where have you been?" Jim asked.

"I went to see my doctor." Catherine replied and sat down beside Jim on the couch. "We have to talk, Jim."

"Wait! I need to talk to you first." he said.

"No, Jim, I don't think this can wait."

"Please, Catherine, just hear me out."

She sighed and nodded. "Okay."

Jim took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. "Now, I know we haven't been seeing each other that long but what we've been through these last couple of weeks, most couples wouldn't go through in a lifetime. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I love you more than anything..." Jim said and pulled a box out of his pocket. "Catherine, will you marry me?"

**TBC...**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

Catherine was speechless, "No... Wait! I mean, yes. Yes, I will marry you." She said as she started to cry.

Jim placed the ring on her finger and wiped the tears from her eyes. Then he pulled her into a hug. "You have just made me the happiest man alive."

Catherine managed a smile and looked at Jim. "I have something to tell you. I went to see my doctor today..." Catherine started. Jim got a sinking feeling in his stomach. When he didn't say anything Catherine continued. She decided to just come right out with it. "Jim, I found out I'm pregnant."

Jim's eyes widened in shock. "Are you serious?" he asked.

"Very. My doctor said I'm two weeks along." Catherine replied and saw a tear roll down Jim's cheek. "Jim, are you okay?"

Jim smiled. "I've never been more okay in my entire life." he said and kissed her.

Just than Andrea and Nick walked out from the kitchen. "Congrats!" Nick said walking up to the two with Andrea.

Catherine looked at them. "Just how long have you two been here?"

"Since you left the doctors. Nick picked me up and we went here." Andrea answered.

Jim stood up from the couch. "Has anyone heard from Pete?" Jim asked.

"No, we haven't seen him since last night." Nick replied.

"I dropped him off at my place but I haven't been back there since then."

"Maybe we should go check up on him." Catherine suggested.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. No offense, guys, but I don't exactly trust him." Nick stated.

"You don't trust him? Hell I don't trust him as far as I can throw the asshole... no offense Jimmy." Catherine added.

"I can understand that." Andrea said. "Peter's done a lot of bad things in his life, I'm skeptical myself about his motives in all this."

Jim had been silent through all this. He didn't know what to think. Sure he could understand where they were all coming from. After all Peter was one of the dirtiest cops in Newark. Something that Jim hated more than anything. On the other hand, Peter was also his brother and to Jim, family was the most important thing in life. "Alright, let's just go see him before we start jumping to conclusions." Jim said.

* * *

Jim and Catherine pulled up in one vehicle and the other two showed up in their own. Jim, with the rest, walked up to the house. He placed his hand on the door and found it to be locked. Something that didn't surprise him. The next thing he did was knock. There was no answer. He knocked again. No answer.

"Maybe something is wrong." Nick commented.

Jim nodded and pulled out his keys. Once the door was unlocked, they all made their way into the house. "Peter?" Jim called out and there was no answer.

With out any words being said they made their way through out the house. Nick walked into the bathroom and yelled. "Call 911!"

Andrea took off running towards the bathroom and found Nick bent over Peter who was lying on the floor. "What happened?"

Nick shook his head, "I found these in his hand." Nick said as he started CPR.

Andrea took the bottle of sleeping pills from Nick. She was shocked. "We have to get him to the hospital." She said calling 911.

Jim made his way to the kitchen as Catherine ran down to the bathroom. Just then he noticed a note on the kitchen counter. He picked it up and started to read it.

"I'm sorry for all the shit I've caused. I never meant for anyone to get to hurt, especially you Jimmy. I'll never forgive myself for what I've done to you. But I couldn't go on knowing I'd have to forever look over my shoulder and wonder when the Sopranos were going to get me. Everyone will be better off and safer once I'm no longer here. This is for the best. Love, Peter."

Tears were falling from Jim's eyes as he walked down to the bathroom. Catherine saw the look on his face and then noticed the note in his hand. She reached out and took it from him.

Just then the paramedics made their way into the house. "What have we got?" a paramedic asked.

"OD." Nick replied. "He swallowed a whole bottle of sleeping pills. I administered CPR and I got a faint pulse but it's not strong."

"Okay, give us some room."

The paramedics started their work and got the heart beat up enough for transfer to Desert Palms. When they started to wheel Peter out of the house Jim ran behind them. He wasn't about to leave his brother. And he knew he had to talk some sense into him when he saw him or if he saw him again.

Still in the house Andrea was in tears, she couldn't believe that her brother had done that. Nick wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He looked over at Catherine who was standing dumbfounded next to him. Slightly trying to smile he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, we should get to the hospital." Nick said gently.

When they made it outside, the ambulance was already gone. Nick helped Andrea and Catherine into the backseat of the SUV and then climbed behind the wheel.

"I just don't understand why he would something like this." Andrea said.

Catherine looked at Andrea. "He left a note." she said and handed it to her.

Andrea read the note and shook her head. "No this can't be right. I mean, he doesn't have to look over his shoulder. We're all here to do that for one another. And I know Peter, he... no..." Andrea said and started to cry.

Catherine pulled her into a hug. "He'll make it, and we'll talk to him to get some answers."

* * *

Nick pulled the SUV into the parking lot and they all made their way inside. They found Jim in the waiting room. "How is he?" Catherine asked.

"I don't know. They're still working on him." Jim replied. His face was still wet from the tears. "I don't understand why he would do this."

"Hey, Jim, he's gonna be okay." Nick said trying to reassure him.

"I just hope we got to him in time." Andrea said.

Nick looked at her. "What do you think, honey?"

Before Andrea had a chance to speak the doctor came out into the waiting room. They all turned and faced him. "Please, tell us he's okay." Andrea said as fresh tears fell from her eyes.

The doctor looked at the group before him. "I've pumped his stomach and we have him stabalized for the time being and he is awake."

"Can we see him?" Jim asked.

"Only for a few minutes, he needs all the rest he can get." the doctor said and showed them to Peter's room.

They entered the room and saw Peter laying in the bed. He turned away when he saw them. Jim and Andrea walked over to the bed. Andrea was the first to speak. "Why, Peter?" she asked.

Peter didn't look at her. "Come on, Pete, talk to us. We can't help you if you don't." Jim said.

"Yeah, Pete, we've all been through hell together these last couple of weeks. I'd say that pretty much makes us connected for life." Nick added.

"That's just the point, Nick." Peter finally said. "None of this would have happened if it wasn't for me."

"You didn't know any of this was going happen." Catherine stated.

"I knew what they were capable of and I just had to make things worse and shoot a member of the crew."

Nick walked closer to the bed and stood beside Andrea. "Yeah, well, I did the same thing, man."

"Look, Pete, whatever you're struggling with right now, you don't have to go through it alone. We're all here for you." Jim said and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Just then the monitor flatlined and the doctor and nurses rushed into the room.

"What's going on?" Nick asked.

"I need you all to leave the room. He just coded." the doctor said.

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Nicole picked Paulie up from the hospital and drove him home. She helped him inside and got him situated comfortably in his bed. "Can I get you anything before I leave?" she asked.

"Stay the night with me; I really don't want to be alone. And I really want to be with you." Paulie said bluntly.

Nicole looked at him. "Are you sure that's a good idea, I mean considering what you've just been through with the shooting and all, I think some alone time would be good. But don't worry, we'll be together when you're better."

Paulie reached out and took her hand and held it in his own. He reveled in the feel of her skin against his and sighed. "I really want you to stay tonight, Nic. I need… I want to hold you. I want to sleep beside you again. It's not easy sleeping alone every night. And alone is what I don't want to be right now." He saw her lips twitch into a half smile.

"Well, if you put it that way." Nicole dropped her coat over the arm of the chair in Paulie's bedroom. "Sure, I'll stay with you, Paulie."

Paulie pulled her beside him and then turned carefully taking Nicole in his arms and kissing her passionately. He poured all of his emotions out and into the kiss showing her exactly how he felt; how he felt now and every moment of every day. He didn't want there to be a doubt in Nicole's mind that he loved her. And there wasn't.

"I love you." He confessed, once they, finally, parted. "I've loved you for a long time."

"I love _you_, too." Nicole responded.

Once in his bed they laid down facing each other. Careful not to hurt Paulie anymore than he had been. Paulie reached across the small gap between them and draped an arm leisurely across Nicole's waist, his hand snaking up underneath the shirt to stroke the soft skin of her back. Nicole yawned and made herself more comfortable, folding her arms underneath her head on the pillow. She inched a little closer to Paulie so he wouldn't have to reach so far to touch her. She closed her eyes and yawned again.

"You know, I was planning on trying to seduce you." She admitted.

"Oh yeah, well maybe I should have waited then."

Nicole nodded with a smile. "Yeah, but I'm too tired now."

"You tired?" Paulie teased, and Nicole smiled at him.

"Ha ha, very funny. Yes, I'm very tired. But I'm willing to make an effort if you are."

Paulie was not about to pass up this opportunity. He had loved Nicole from far away for far too long. Now here she was in his bed and she wanted to be with him.

They kissed for several minutes, hands roaming and exploring, feeling like a couple of horny teenagers when Nicole had grown impatient and removed her shirt. Following her lead, Paulie had unhooked her bra impatiently sliding it off her shoulders.

Nicole pushed herself forward frantically and he readily took her left nipple in his mouth, savoring it. He paid equal attention to the right one and heard her moan in agreement.

Feeling an urge of possessiveness, he turned her over and looked into her eyes. What he found there warmed his soul and made his cock twitch. Lust, hunger, and something else that he would later label as love.

She impatiently brought his head back to her breast, but he slowly lowered himself to her navel and started working on her zipper.

He forcefully removed her skin tight pants and then made his way up her legs, leaving soft kisses on her calves, her knees and her inner thighs. He felt her shiver in anticipation as he teased her center with his closed mouth before he plunged his tongue into her.

"Paulie! Yes… please!" Her hips moved forward and she held his head firmly down on her.

He licked slowly the length of her inner lips and sucked gently on her clitoris while pushing two fingers into her. He felt her hands push his head closer when he located her G spot.

He pushed a third finger into her, applying regular pressure while satisfying her with his tongue, he couldn't get enough of her: he felt like he was in the middle of his smuttiest wet dream but Nicole's voice somewhere above him, urging him to go faster and deeper, kept reminding him that this was real.

He felt her thighs shake and heard her voice rise in moans. Paulie stayed between her legs, pumping his fingers in and out, feeling a sense of accomplishment as he watched her ride her orgasm.

She played with Paulie's hair, twirling it around her fingers before moving her hands down on his shoulder blades and bringing him up to her, pressing her mouth on his.

Paulie had never felt so turned on. When Nicole clumsily pushed his pants and boxers down to his knees and reached for his overwhelming erection, he couldn't help but thrust in her hand. She stroked him a couple of times before directing him to her center, letting the head rest against her clitoris.

He lifted her right leg and held it against his hip, slowly pushing himself in her. He knew how tight she was and he didn't want to hurt her so he entered her gradually. He heard her release a breath and felt her hips rise up to meet him. He looked deep into her eyes as he lifted himself out of her only to penetrate her completely.

She held on to him, bucking her hips wildly into him. "Fuck Paulie! Yes! Please more…"

Her voice was driving him wild: he had to resist the urge to selfishly pound into her faster until he was spent.

Still holding onto her right leg, he pulled her left one along his side, bringing Nicole's hips up to him and he thrust deep into her. She screamed in appreciation as he repeated the motion a few times. He kept thrusting until he could feel them both on the urge. Then they released everything that was pent up inside them and they both came together.

Paulie had temporarily forgotten about his recent injury. Truth be told he didn't care about anything at the moment but being there with Nicole. He had dreamt about this since he had met her. His only regret was that he didn't make his move sooner. If he had of then she never would have been hurt by Ralphie.

Paulie rolled onto his side and pulled Nicole to him. "I love you, Paulie." Nicole said breathlessly.

Paulie smiled and kissed her forehead. "I love you, too."

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

Jim stood staring out the window at Catherine's house. His fists were clenched. His brother killed himself over the Sopranos. And he wanted so much to seek revenge for what the Soprano crew had done to his friends and his family.

Jim was now staying at Catherine's. He couldn't bring himself to stay at his house after what had happened. Jim was blaming himself for not being there when Peter needed him, maybe if he had, then Peter would be alive now.

Catherine walked up behind Jim and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Jim? Peter's lawyer is here."

Jim nodded and followed Catherine into the living room. Peter's lawyer was sitting there with Andrea and Nick.

"Ladies, gentlemen. I am here on behalf of the late Peter Brass. Now is there somewhere, that we can talk about his will?" Peter's lawyer asked when they all stood in front of him.

"We can stay here if you'd like." Catherine said.

"Okay, that's fine." he said sitting back down. "Now, I have a copy of your brother's will, so I'll get right to it. It states here that Peter requests that no autopsy be performed, he doesn't want a wake and he's asked to be cremated. Also, he's donated all his available money to the 9/11 Compensation Fund. He had very little assets and what he does have can be divided between Jim and Andrea."

Andrea looked at the lawyer. "Will you be able to take care of all this? We won't be going back to Newark."

The lawyer nodded. "Of course. I just need you and Jim to sign here. It's to stipulate that I've shared the contents of the will with you and that you understand Peter's wishes."

Andrea took the document and signed the bottom. Then she hand the papers to Jim. He just sat there. He was still in shock of what Peter had done. "Jimmy, you have to sign the papers."

Jim shook his head and then took the papers from Andrea. He looked at them for a minute and then scribbled his signature.

The lawyer took the papers back and placed them in his briefcase. Now that, that was completed he stood. "Thank you, and I'm very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you." Andrea said as the lawyer left.

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Nicole walked into the Bing, where Tony told her he wanted to talk to her. She sat down on the couch and looked at him. "Hey. T. you wanted to talk?"

Tony set his drink down on the desk. "Yeah, I did."

Nicole was a little nervous sitting across from Tony. She never knew what he was thinking or what he was going to do next. Tony was a very unpredictable man. His temper could blow up at any second. "Is eveything alright, Tony?" Nicole asked nervously.

Tony leaned a little forward. "It's nothing to get nervous about, Nic. I just want to get a few things straight."

Once that was said, Nicole calmed down. She never understood how Tony always knew how she felt. "What about?"

"I need to know some things about Ralphie." he said as he lit a cigar.

"Look, T., I'd rather not talk about him." Nicole sighed.

"I understand but I need to know what happened. Why he flipped out like that."

Nicole sighed, and looked at Tony. "Ton'," she said and than sighed. "My best guess would be because I was starting to pull away from him. He was starting to fucking creep me out. And even though Justin got hurt, I wanted to get my ass away from him."

"What exactly was he doing that was creeping you out?"

"Let's just say, T., I'm all for trying new things in the bedroom but I draw the line at rubbing someone raw with a cheese grater."

"You're fucking kidding me? He really wanted you to do that?" Tony asked surprised.

Nicole nodded. "Yeah and if that's not enough he likes having a dildo shoved up his ass."

Tony shook his head. "Okay, that I understand. But..."

"You still wanna know why he flipped, right?" Nicole asked, as she moved to sit sideways on the couch with her feet up on the couch. "Let's just say, when I last saw him at the house. I told him a few things. We had a fight. And he went to raise a hand to me. That fucking asshole got the side of my gun in his face. Now Ton' you should know me by now."

Tony took another puff of his cigar. "You should have told me about this earlier. That fucking prick, I should have fucking killed him. You're better off without him."

Nicole looked away. "It wasn't the first time that had happened, T."

Tony took the cigar out of his mouth and looked at her. "What? He fucking hurt you before all this shit went down?"

Nicole didn't reply.

Tony put his cigar in the ashtray, walked over and sat down beside her. He could tell she was struggling with something. "Hey, Nic, you can tell me. Ralphie won't hurt you. I'll make sure of that. Well, he never would have fucking hurt you in the first place if I had've known what the fuck was going on."

"Tony..." She said on the verge of tears. She didn't want him to see her cry, but she was still struggling with what Ralphie did to her. Ralphie one moment would be like a prince charming the next he would be the most evil person.

Tony saw the look of hurt and pain in her eyes and pulled her into a hug. "Okay, honey, you don't have to say anything. You can tell me when you're ready." he said quietly.

She choked back the tears. "He..." She sighed, not wanting to leave her cousin's arms. "Tony... I should have been stronger."

"No, you should have come to me when all this started. I would have taken care of him."

"I should have." She said bluntly.

Tony's brow furrowed. "Ralphie's fucking lucky he's a made guy or I'd kill him on the spot."

She couldn't hold the tears back anymore. And she felt ashamed of them. She always told herself that tears were a sign of weakness. "I'm sorry." She said in bearly a whisper.

Just then Paulie walked into the back room and saw Nicole and Tony on the couch. Tony looked at Paulie and pointed to the kleexex on the desk. Paulie grabbed a few and brought them over. Tony let go of Nicole and Paulie sat down and pulled her into his arms, handing her the kleenex in the process. She took them, pulled back from Paulie and wiped her eyes.

Paulie had a strained look on his face. "I was outside. I heard you and T. talking. I wish you had of told us."

She shook her head. "I know... I should have."

Paulie lifted her head to look at him. "Hey, you did nothing wrong."

Tony nodded. "He's right. Ralphie is fucking stupid for what he did."

Nicole sniffed. "I fucked up..."

"No! You didn't fuck up, Ralphie did. Ralphie's a fucking low life cocksucker." Paulie interrupted.

"Granted he did. But if I was fucking smart, I would have come to you guys. But I tried to deal with him on my fucking own." She said standing up, her temper was starting to flair.

Tony placed his hand on her shoulder. "Listen, Nicole, you gotta stop blaming yourself. The only thing you're guilty of here is loving Ralphie. And love is blind, sweetheart, we never see the real person until sometimes it's too late and we've gotten in way too deep."

She shook her head. "Tony, that's the thing. I never loved Ralphie."

Paulie stood up and walked over to her. "Okay, but T.'s right. None of what happened is your fault."

Nicole hated to do it but she backed away from both of them. "I'm blaming myself because, I didn't have the fucking guts to come to you guys. And more than once I almost lost my life over it, because of Ralphie."

Tony and Paulie hated the fact that she was blaming herself for all the shit that Ralphie had caused. Both men felt like they would never get through to her and it was breaking Paulie's heart to see her like this. "Hey, Nic, you can't let Ralphie keep ruining your life like this. He's not fucking worth it." Paulie said.

Tony nodded. "He's right. Ralphie ain't fucking worth this."

Nicole sighed and nodded. "I guess..." She started and slowly sunk down onto the couch. "But I just..."

Both men were getting nowhere. Paulie walked over to the bar and poured two fingers of scotch. Then walked over to the couch and sat down beside Nicole. "Here, drink this, I think you need it."

Nicole looked at the glass for a minute and then took it. She swirled the amber liquid around in the glass and then downed it in one shot. "You're right, I did."

Tony crossed his arms and stood in front of the two. "Okay, Nic." Tony started, hoping to get through to her this time. He hated seeing his cousin like this. Someone that meant a lot to him. "What Ralphie did was totally fucking wrong. You did nothing wrong."

Paulie nodded. "Yeah, T.'s right. Now could you let that stick in that stubborn thick skull of yours?" Paulie asked with a small smiled.

Nicole slightly smiled. Now she felt tired. She couldn't believe that now they both know what she went through. She tried to hide it the best she could. "Okay." She said in a soft voice. Now she decided to put it all aside and act like she did before, a true Soprano.

**TBC...**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Nicole stood outside the back of the Bing. She needed to think, she really did. However she still couldn't get over the fact one minute he was prince charming and the next it was like he was the devil's son. Which really made her more angry.

Without thinking she spun around and kicked the wall just as Christopher made his way in. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Nicole glared at him. "Chrissy, mind your own fucking business."

"No seriously, what the hell is wrong with you? You look like you just went through hell backwards." He said walking up to her.

She backed away from him. "Chrissy, I'm warning you. I'm not in the best of fucking moods right now."

Christopher looked at her. "You got real anger management shit you really need to work out." he stated.

"Fuck you, I do. You still got two legs and a heartbeat right now."

"Yeah and a real fucking anger problem. Not only that, you seem to mostly take it out on the wrong fucking people."

Nicole glared at him again. "Chrissy, you don't know a fucking thing about what's going on. And there is a fucking reason. If you want to fucking know, than maybe you should fucking talk to T. or Paulie."

"Yeah, like those two will tell me a damn thing. That's like trying to infiltrate Fort fucking Knox."

She looked at him. "Okay than. Why don't you take a wild fucking guess. Maybe than I might fucking tell you. But a lot of fucking good it would do." She replied. Though having him know something that she was ashamed of wasn't her idea of fun.

"You know, I don't need this shit. If you don't wanna tell me, then don't fucking tell me. I really don't care either way." he said lighting up a smoke.

She walked over to him. "Gimme one. And I'll tell you a little."

"Fucking mooch." he said and held out the pack to her. "I guess you need a fucking light, too, huh?"

"No, that I got." She said handing the pack back to him and lighting her own smoke. "Now, where to fucking start?"

"How about the beginning? That's always a good place." he said and took a puff.

She took a puff of her and flicked the ashes. "Okay it all starts with Ralphie."

"Why am I not fucking surprised? He's a prick and always will be."

"He was okay sometimes. Just a little too eager about certain things." She said looking away taking a drag off the smoke.

Christopher exhaled the smoke and leaned against the building. "We're not talking about the jobs he pulled off, are we?"

"Do you really think that is what it is?"

"I don't know what to think when it comes to Ralphie Cifaretto." Christopher said, taking another drag.

Nicole took another drag. "Did you ever wonder why I suddenly broke it off with him?" she asked than exhaled. She wasn't trying to play 20 questions with her third cousin, from marriage. But she wanted him to clue in before she told him.

Christopher threw his butt to the ground and looked at her seriously. "Sure I wondered. But I didn't think you'd tell me if I asked."

She avoided eye contact, and took one of the last drags off her smoke. "That's one of your problems, Chris, you think too much. But the truth is, Ralphie started to get weird and creep me out."

Christopher nodded. "I'm not too surprised. I mean he's a coke head. That shit can make anyone weird."

"Understatement." She replied throwing the butt to the ground. "Big fucking understatement."

Christopher understood what she meant and he didn't want to push her anymore than he already had. "Look, I got the picture. You don't have to talk about it anymore, if you don't want to."

"It's up to you. I made a mistake. It's not that I'm proud of it. But it's fucking life."

"We've all made mistakes we're not proud of. Do you think I'm squeaky clean?" Christopher laughed.

"I know you're not." She said with a smile. "No seriously. What Ralphie wanted me to do was fucking beyond weird."

"Everything Ralphie did was beyond weird. He should have been taken care of long before he ever made Captain."

"True enough. And if I was fucking smart enough when I... started fucking seeing the guy, when he first..." She paused, and was kind of grateful Christopher didn't say anything. "first..." She said and turned around, not wanting to face him.

"First what?" Christopher asked and noticed she was facing away from him. "You okay?"

"No, it's not something I really want to talk about, Chrissy."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you know we're all here for you when you need us, okay? Don't be afraid to ask for help."

"It's not that I was afraid. It was that I wanted to take care of it myself... It's just every time I tried to break it off is when..."

"Hey, you shouldn't have to deal with things yourself. That's why we have the family, to take care of each other."

She looked at him. "I'm the only female in the crew, Chrissy. It's not easy, and I have to keep proving myself. That's why I tired to deal with this on my own."

"I think you've proved yourself plenty over the past couple weeks. Face it, you're a full member of the crew and we always help each other out of jams."

"Yeah."

"Good. So get all this independent bullshit out of your head and let us help you once in awhile." Christopher smiled.

She slightly smiled. "Hey, only once in awhile. But I still like some of my independence."

"Who doesn't? You think I want T. hovering over my shoulder 24/7?"

Nicole laughed. "Actually, I think it's kind of cute."

"Funny. Come on, let's go inside. I need a drink and I want to kick your ass at pool." he said opening the door.

"Bring it on." She said walking inside.

**/Las Vegas, Nevada - Eight Months Later/**

It had been eight months since Peter died and although Jim was somewhat over the shock value of what had happened, he still couldn't bring himself to go back into his own house. So Catherine, Andrea and Nick packed up the items and what they didn't bring back to Catherine's, they placed into storage.

During the last eight months, Jim and Catherine had been becoming more and more excited with the healthy progression of her pregnancy. Catherine had talked to Lindsey about all the changes that were about to happen in their lives, the wedding and the baby, which Lindsey didn't like at first. But over the last eight months she grew to love Jim and the fact that she was about to have new baby brother or sister.

Nick and Andrea on the other hand had gotten extremely close and Andrea moved into Nick's apartment with him. She also left her position at Beth Israel in Newark and managed to get herself the job of chief surgeon at Desert Palm Hospital. And of course she still stayed in touch with her two daughters, Kayla and Hayley, who are attending university on the East coast.

Now everyone's lives seemed to be getting back on track. After all the tragedy they had endured nine months prior, Jim and Catherine's upcoming wedding gave everyone something to look forward to. Not to mention, since Catherine was now nine months pregnant, the arrival of the newest member of the Brass family.

* * *

Catherine walked, well more like waddled, into the hotel to talk to her father, Sam Braun. Once she found him they went into his office. "So, Muggs, what did you need to talk to me about?"

Catherine sat down in a chair. "My wedding."

Sam nodded. "Are you sure you want to marry Jim?"

"Sam, I love Jim and he loves me. Nothing else matters. Not to mention I'm about to have his baby."

Sam glanced at her swollen belly. "I didn't even know you were seeing each other until Lily told me."

Catherine was silently and sarcastically thinking that she'd have to thank her mother for that later. "We got really close on a trip we took to New Jersey nine months ago."

"New Jersey? What happened in Jersey?"

Catherine shook her head. "We went out there to get some information on a related case here but we ran into some trouble. Turns out the two dead guys were hits."

Sam frowned. "Trouble? What kind of trouble did you and Jim get into, Muggs?"

"Have you ever heard of the Sopranos?" she asked. Sam nodded and Catherine continued. "Well, let's just say they didn't like having us around."

Now Sam was really frowning. "Just how much do you guys know about the Sopranos? And how much did you piss them off?"

"Excuse me? They tried to kill us, Sam. And all you can ask me is how much we know about them and how much we pissed them off!" Catherine yelled standing up.

Sam sighed. "Muggs, I'm just trying to look out for you."

"Yeah, well, I don't need you to look out for me. I don't even know why I bothered to try and have a civilized conversation with you." she said walking to the door.

"Muggs!" Sam said standing up following her.

"Go to hell, Sam!" Catherine said and opened the door and then turned around and faced him again. "You know, I thought that maybe you would show at least an ounce of concern for my well being but I guess I was wrong. You only look out for yourself, Sam."

"Catherine, you just don't realize what these people are capable of. I just want you to be careful." Sam said grabbing her arm.

"I am sick and tired of people saying that. They tried to kill me, not to mention Jim and Nick, all because we wanted to do our jobs and solve a double homicide. I think I know perfectly well what these psychos are capable of." Catherine said pulling out of Sam's grip and walking off down the hall.

Sam sighed. He closed the door. This was just something that he knew he had to take care of. And he knew just who these people were that were after them. He sat down at his desk and went through his black personal phone book. He needed to make a phone call.

* * *

Catherine made her way out of the hotel and got into the car. Jim was behind the wheel, he looked over at her and noticed she was crying. He reached out his hand and took hers. "Are you okay, Cath?" he asked.

"I went up there to talk to Sam about the wedding and we got into what happened back in New Jersey."

"You told Sam about that?"

Catherine nodded. "But all he cared about was what we know about them and how much we pissed them off. He doesn't care that they almost killed us."

"Look, Catherine, I know he's your father but for as long as I've known him, I've never trusted the man."

Catherine shook her head. "I don't know what to say."

"Well, Sam and I don't exactly have the best history. I've arrested him for murder, twice." Jim stated and held out a handkerchief to her.

Catherine took it and wiped her eyes. "Are you sure you still want to marry me, Jim, you know me being Sam's daughter and all."

Jim shifted in his seat so he could get a better look at Catherine. "Catherine, look at me." he said. She turned toward him and gazed into his blue eyes. "You are nothing like Sam. I can't wait until the day I marry you. Nothing will make me prouder than having you as my wife." Jim smiled. "Except maybe having Lindsey and our new baby as my children."

Catherine smiled. As long as she had Jim, and their family, she knew she was going to be okay. "I love you, Jim." she said and leaned in and kissed him.

"I love you, too, Catherine. Now come on, we have to meet Andrea and Nick for lunch." he said and started the engine.

* * *

Back upstairs in Sam's office, he was on the phone talking to Tony Soprano. "Tony, what the hell were you thinking trying to kill my daughter?" he asked angrily.

"Sam, I didn't know she was your daughter. How could I?"

"Well, she is and you're damn lucky she made it home in one piece."

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Tony was sitting behind his desk. "Hey, I never would've went near her, had I known. Trust me on that." Tony replied as Nicole and Paulie walked into the back room.

"Tony, just stay the hell away from her. Do you understand me?" Sam barked angrily.

"Yeah, Sam, I hear you. But I gotta go, we'll talk again real soon." Tony said and hung up the phone.

Nicole was sitting on the couch and looked over at Tony. "Who was that, T.?"

"Sam Braun." he replied.

"Sam Braun?" Paulie repeated. "The guy from Vegas?"

"Yeah. He called to tell me to stay away from his daughter."

"Who the fuck's his daughter?" Nicole asked.

"The broad who was out here with Pete's brother."

"You're shitting me!" Nicole said, completely shocked. Tony shook his head. "Tony, you should've let us cap them."

"Yeah, well, I'm starting to rethink that."

Nicole's eyes lit up at the prospect of being able to finally take them out. "Come on, T., let me take them out."

Tony looked across the room at her and sighed. "Let's wait for a little while and see what happens?"

Nicole and Paulie were already walking to the door. "What the hell, T." Paulie said.

"We'll give it some time. If nothing happens then we'll deal with them. Got it." Tony said, lighting a cigar and taking a puff.

Nicole smiled, getting his meaning. "Yeah. We got it, Tony." she replied and her and Paulie were out the door.

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

Jim and Catherine were at the Prime Steakhouse, the place where their first date had been interrupted and subsequently lead to a lot of trouble for them, having lunch with Nick and Andrea.

Jim looked across the table at his sister. "So, what's this good news you two wanted to share?"

Andrea looked at Nick and then back to Jim and Catherine and smiled. "We got married."

Jim had just put a piece of steak in his mouth and nearly choked on it when he heard the news. "You what?" he gasped.

"We got married." Andrea repeated.

"We'd been talking about it for a while now and decided to just go for it." Nick added.

"Well, congratulations, you guys." Catherine finally said. "When did you do it? Although it would've been nice if we could've been there."

"Yeah, we're sorry about that. We actually did it last night. It was really on the spur of the moment." Andrea explained.

"Yeah, no kidding." Jim stated.

"Jim..." Nick started to say.

Jim held his hand up to stop him. "Don't, Nick." he said. Everyone at the table thought that Jim didn't approve but he shocked them all when a smile broke out on his face. "Wow, I mean, it's unexpected but I'm really happy for you."

"You mean that, Jimmy?" Andrea asked.

"Absolutely." Jim replied and then looked at Nick. "But if you ever..."

This time Nick stopped him. "Don't even finish that sentence, Jim. You have nothing to worry about."

Jim smirked. "Yeah, I know."

Just then, Catherine grabbed Jim's arm and screamed. "Ahhhh, Jim!"

"What? What it is?" he asked concerned.

"My water just broke!"

"Oh, God!" Jim yelled and jumped up from the table. "Okay, okay, let's not panic. We got to get to the hospital."

"Let's get her out to the car. It'll be quicker then waiting for an ambulance." Andrea said.

Jim, Nick and Andrea helped Catherine out of the restaurant and into the backseat of Jim's Charger. Nick jumped behind the wheel and Jim and Andrea flanked Catherine in the back.

* * *

Nick pulled the car to a screaming stop outside the emergency room doors. Two orderlies came running out when they saw Andrea jumping out of the car. "What's the trouble, Dr. Brass?" an orderlie asked.

"Got a woman in labor here, guys. Go get us wheel chair."

"Yes, ma'am."

A few seconds later the orderlie arrived with the wheel chair. They helped get Catherine into it and wheeled her into the hospital.

* * *

An hour later, Catherine was in the delivery room and ready to give birth to their baby. Her doctor, Dr. Reynolds, was standing at the foot of the bed and telling Catherine to push.

Jim was standing by Catherine's side and holding her hand. Trying to help her as best he could. "Come on, honey, you can do it. Come on."

"Arghhhhh!" Catherine screamed as she pushed as hard as she could.

"Okay, Catherine and rest." Dr. Reynolds said.

"You're doing great, baby." Jim said and kissed her sweaty forehead.

"Okay, Catherine, I can see the head. One more big push and you'll have your baby."

Catherine began pushing again with everything she had in her. "Arghhhh!" she screamed and then she heard the wail of the baby.

"It's a boy." Dr. Reynolds announced.

The nurse showed him to Catherine and Jim before she took him to table to clean him up. "Oh, he's perfect." Jim said.

Jim and Catherine were grinning from ear to ear. "A boy. We have a son, Jim."

"I know, baby, and you did great. He's perfect." Jim replied as the nurse placed the baby in Catherine's arms.

"How much does he weigh?" Catherine asked.

"He was 8 pounds 4 ounces." the nurse replied.

"Wow, I knew he was going to be big..."

"I'll give you some time with him before we take him to the nursery."

"Thank you." Jim said and looked at the bundle in Catherine's arms. "You still set on the name we picked?" he asked as he took the baby from her.

"Yeah. I think it's perfect." Catherine replied.

Just then Nick and Andrea came into the room. "So, what's the verdict?" Andrea asked.

"A perfectly, healthy baby boy." Jim replied proudly.

"You got a name for him yet?" Nick asked.

Catherine looked at Jim and then back at Nick and Andrea. "Yeah. This is Alexander James Brass." she said, referring to the baby that Jim was holding.

"Can I hold him?" Andrea asked.

"Yeah, sure." Jim replied and handed Alex to her.

Nick walked around to the other side of the bed and looked at his wife holding the little boy. He couldn't help but think that he'd love to have that experience. Of being a father. Maybe some day he and Andrea would have one of their own. He looked at Catherine and then over at Jim. "Congratulations."

"Thanks, Nicky." Catherine replied and everyone enjoyed the newest member of the family.

**Author's Note: For those who have read this story before will notice I've made some changes - I've decided to give Jim & Catherine one baby instead of twins - that's the only major change. **

**THE END... FOR NOW!**

**Sequel is Viva Las Vegas. **


End file.
